EIS Loss relief

Hi, I have invested in a few EIS eligible companies in the past few years, but have not yet claimed EIS relief on these. This year I am filling in a SA for the first time and a couple of the companies have gone into administration. Can I claim EIS loss relief on my self assessment, even though I haven't yet claimed the EIS relief, or would I need to fill in and post the forms for the EIS relief first before claiming the loss relief on the SA?

I'm not a tax advisor but I do my own EIS claims etc. I'm fairly sure you need to have claimed S/EIS relief to qualify for any loss relief, and that it needs to be done in the correct timeframe, i.e. in your situation you'd be unable to claim anything. You can't go "oops, I forgot to file and I'll do it now that the company has gone bust". So it's a definite No to your first question, and I'm pretty sure the second question's answer is that's not possible now, unless some of the investments were in this or last tax year.

Is there a reason you're not claiming the EIS Income tax relief? Unless you're not eligible for some reason, I know of no downside. Whilst it's too late for you to claim EIS subscriptions from before 6th April 2023 on a new Self Assessment return, the deadline is MORE GENEROUS when filling in paper EIS3 forms: "If you invest with Enterprise Investment Scheme, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme or Social Investment Tax Relief, you can claim relief up to 5 years after the 31 January following the tax year in which you made the investment." from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-tax-relief-for-investors You also MUST have claimed the Income tax relief in order to be eligible for relief from Capital Gains tax on any gain at disposal.
Turning now to the loss relief you initially asked about, it is HELPFUL to have claimed EIS Income tax relief because the conditions to claim loss relief - as documented at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/negligible-value-claims-and-income-tax-losses-on-disposals-of-shares-you-have-subscribed-for-in-qualifying-trading-companies-hs286-self-assessment-he/hs286-negligible-value-claims-and-income-tax-losses-on-disposals-of-shares-you-have-subscribed-for-in-qualifying-trading-companies-2024#in-what-type-of-company-should-i-have-subscribed-for-shares - are that EITHER you claimed the income tax relief (and it has not been withdrawn) OR a long list of other conditions that are harder to be certain of. So it's NOT necessary to have claimed the Income tax relief to be eligible for loss relief, but it does help make things simpler.
In your position, I'd first look to claim any Income tax relief that you are eligible for and for which the claim isn't out of time. If the companies are in administration but not yet dissolved, it is not urgent that you deal with the loss relief in your current return - you haven't crystallised the loss yet. The loss only occurs when you choose to make a negligible value claim, or actually cease to own the shares, e.g. on dissolution, so it sounds like you could choose to deal with it in next year's Self Assessment.

Hi newbie2896,
You do not have to have claimed EIS Income Tax relief in order to be able to claim share loss relief. But if Income Tax relief has been claimed, any share loss relief claimed should be reduced by the amount of Income Tax relief claimed. You can see guidance here:
HS286 Negligible value claims and Income Tax losses on disposals of shares you have subscribed for in qualifying trading companies (2024)
You can see guidance for share loss relief here:
VCM70000 - Share Loss Relief
Thank you.