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Home > R&D tax credits – how to claim R&D tax relief
There is a lot of confusion around claiming R&D tax credits, and many businesses miss out.
Speak to one of our experts today or contact your local office to learn more.
Research & Development (R&D) tax relief is an incentive available to UK limited companies which encourages investment in innovation. R&D tax credits can reduce a company’s tax liability or, if a company is not in profit, provide a payable cash refund.
For tax purposes, the definition of R&D is purposefully broad. The relief is ultimately geared towards problem solving businesses – those which can demonstrate they’re making ‘appreciable improvements’ or overcoming technological/scientific uncertainties.
If you’re improving processes, bringing new products and services to market, increasing efficiencies or solving problems for customers, there’s a strong chance you could be eligible for the relief.
As it stands, the R&D tax credits are one of the biggest forms of tax relief available to SMEs, providing a 130% uplift on qualifying costs.
R&D tax relief can provide an important source of funding through cash reimbursement or tax deduction for companies developing products, processes and services. It’s one of the biggest tax reliefs available to SMEs and can be worth up to 33.35% of a company’s R&D expenditure.
The good news is that R&D claims can be made retrospectively. You can file a retrospective claim for any R&D activity carried out in the last 2 years.
Here are some examples of companies that we’ve helped with R&D tax claims. These research and development tax credit examples will help you understand how R&D Credits are calculated, and what it means to you and your business.
You may be surprised to find out the wide range of R&D qualifying expenditure that is eligible for R&D tax credits. Even failed attempts to improve products or processes can still count as R&D qualifying expenditure.
Want to know whether your work qualifies for R&D tax relief? A quick chat to us will clarify matters. There is no fee for this initial advice and there is no obligation to pursue a claim with us.
We offer a success-based fee so you pay us according to the level of return we achieve for you. Claims can go back two tax years so the quicker you act, the more benefit you can achieve.
Read how Haines Watts help an award-winning architecture practice claim back substantial cash from HMRC to fund further research and development projects.
Read case studyWith thousands of pounds waiting to be claimed, this could make a real difference to your business. Find out if your business is eligible to claim R&D tax relief.
It was a revelation that the activity which we saw as a necessary part of growing our business could be considered ‘R&D’ and therefore generate tax relief. Our claim was handled very efficiently and the outcome was most welcome.
Sally Gibson, Dawleys Limited
We originally only had prepared traditional R&D claims, but the expertise of Haines Watts enabled us to maximise our time elsewhere as well as achieve more than 3 times the refund we had previously received. A very worthwhile collaboration.
Stephen J E McRae ACMA, CGMA, Analytical Technology & Control Limited
Without your expert knowledge we would never have thought we would qualify for the level of research and development tax credit that we did. The whole process was also pain free and far from time consuming, which I certainly did not expect.
Alex Pattison-Appleton, Rethink Printing Limited
As a marketing and design agency, R&D was never something we’d directly associated with our line of business. But Haines Watts actually made us realise that a lot of things we do on a day-to-day basis qualify. I’d thoroughly recommend any other businesses to look into it - even if you’re unsure whether you’ll qualify, the guys at Haines Watts will be able to guide you through the process.
Barry Pollock, The Works
Haines Watts expertise in identifying qualifying R&D expenditure has resulted in a level of claim we never thought possible and it has also helped us think more strategically about funding future innovation.
Les Salt, Goldvale Steel Fabrications
Meeting to understand your challenges and how you’ve overcome them – ensuring we’ve got a crystal-clear picture of operations to capture everything possible in your claim.
Gathering relevant financial records, analyse the figures and produce a precise figure indicating how much tax you’ll save and whether you’re due a refund from the revenue.
Bespoke report presented detailing your eligible activity and why you qualify. Our team has completed hundreds of claims, so our process is seamless and very efficient.
Report submission to HMRC with amended CT600. We handle all communication with HMRC even if an enquiry is raised. We’ve got 100% record on successfully dealing with enquiries.
After submission, you can generally expect your claim to go through with 4-6 weeks. Once you’ve received cash back from HMRC, that money is yours to do with as you please.
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