Research and development doesn’t mean that you have to wear a white lab coat!
Companies that spend money developing new products, processes or services; or enhancing existing ones, are eligible for R&D tax relief. If you’re spending money on your innovation, you can make an R&D tax credit claim to receive either a cash payment and/or a Corporation Tax reduction.
The scope for identifying R&D is huge – in fact, it exists in every single sector. And if you’re making a claim for the first time, you can typically claim R&D tax relief for your last two completed accounting periods.
To benefit from R&D tax incentives, you must:
Who qualifies for R&D tax credits?
R&D can take place in any sector. It occurs in everything from cheese-making to chemical engineering, and construction to digital development.
The HMRC R&D criteria are purposefully broad. Whatever size or sector, if your company is taking a risk by attempting to ‘resolve scientific or technological uncertainties’ then you may be carrying out qualifying activity. This could include:
If you’re not sure if your project is possible, or you don’t know how to achieve it in practice, you could be resolving technological uncertainties and carrying out qualifying R&D. Within the government’s accepted research and development definition, R&D doesn’t have to have been successful to qualify. You can also include work undertaken for a client, as well as your own projects.
Get in touch today to see how we can support your business and take the pressure off your finances.
