09 November 2018
Services:
Tax Reliefs including R&D
The North East offices of accountancy firm Haines Watts have revealed that innovative SMEs have saved over £19.5m through their assistance in reclaiming Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits, with many having been unaware they qualified for the support.
A total of 302 R&D Tax Credit claims were submitted by the Newcastle and Darlington offices in the financial year 2017/18 - an increase of over 70 per cent on the previous 12 months - generating over £100m of enhanced tax deduction for limited companies.
Jonathan Scott, Tax Partner at Haines Watts, commented: “Awareness of the relief is on the rise, as we’ve seen through the substantial increase in claims we’re dealing with. However, vast numbers of companies across the region are missing out on valuable R&D tax credits – at an average of £55,000 per year – due to the fact they don’t fully understand the legislation or don’t have the expertise to assemble a claim.
“The North East submitted 1,370 claims for R&D relief in 2016-17. Compare this to the 2,625 submitted by our neighbours in Yorkshire and the 4,330 by the North West and you start to really get a picture of how much the North East is lagging behind.”
Internationally acclaimed architecture practice JDDK is one of the many North East businesses Haines Watts has supported with R&D tax credit claims.
Mura Mullan, Director at JDDK, said: “The successful R&D claims they have helped us with enable the practice to invest in the Research and Development work we do in Architecture - R&D both in initial design work and in Post Occupation Evaluation Studies which is then shared with other professionals in the sector. We have found their team very helpful and benefited from their expertise and would have no hesitation recommending their service to other organisations.”
The top 15 firm is now keen to ensure that other companies in the region are maximising the opportunities available to them, by educating business owners and entrepreneurs on R&D relief and what activity can qualify.
Jonathan adds: “We’ve partnered with Innovation SuperNetwork to help boost awareness of the benefits of R&D tax relief, and we’ve recently been appointed as a Solution Provider for R&D with the ScaleUp North East programme.”
To meet the rising demand for specialist R&D tax advice, Haines Watts also has significantly increased its R&D tax team, developing from a sole tax technician in 2014 to its current ten-strong team, including recently appointed Tax Manager, Sara Andrews and R&D Tax Senior, Mario Minchella.
Haines Watts offers a range of accountancy services for SMEs and aspirational owner-managed businesses in the North East. The firm provides ambitious business owners across multiple sectors with the tax, compliance, corporate finance, and strategic business advisory services they need to grow.
For more information on R&D Tax Relief and the specialist support Haines Watts provide visit: https://www.hwca.com/
