
Capital gains tax exemption on the disposal of ordinary shares in a VCT.Įxample effect of initial income tax relief.Tax-free dividends, which may include capital distributions.Relief is limited to the amount which reduces the investor’s income tax liability to nil and is only available on shares issued through an offer it is not available on shares purchased through the London Stock Exchange.


To encourage investment into VCT schemes, the government has put in place a number of incentives in the form of income tax relief, dividend tax relief and capital gains tax relief. Most of the companies are registered in the UK.īy virtue of the size of the qualifying companies, investments in them (known as qualifying investments) carry greater risk than those made in larger companies, although they also have the potential to deliver significant capital growth over the medium to long term. For example, in most cases they must have less than 250 employees and gross assets of less than £15m. There are complex rules with which a VCT must comply that are designed to channel investments into small companies with certain characteristics, known as qualifying companies. Investors subscribe for shares in the VCT and this money, after fees have been deducted, is pooled and used by the investment manager of the VCT to invest in or lend money to small unquoted companies, including companies that are listed on AIM or the AQSE Growth Market.

A Venture Capital Trust (otherwise known as a VCT) is an investment company, broadly similar to an investment trust, which has been approved by HMRC.
