Investments giving tax relief

Independent practitioners use various Government-supported schemes and incentives to get tax relief for investing their hard-earned cash. Ian Tongue gives a specialist medical accountant’s view.

There are four commonly available venture capital schemes of special interest to many high-earning doctors.

And that is in addition to tax-efficient savings schemes such as ISAs, familiar to most people.  

The information below is not exhaustive and does not represent investment advice. Before considering any investments, you should discuss your individual circumstances with an independent financial adviser.

What are tax-incentivised investments?

There have been many over the years, but the most common ones nowadays are:

 Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS);

 Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS);

 Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs);

 Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR).

Many people will, no doubt, have ISAs, which could be regarded as capital and income shielded from future tax rather than the above schemes, where you are provided with a reduction in your income tax liability from the act of investing money.

The main reason for offering income tax relief for investing is to stimulate the economy and allow businesses to grow by raising capital.