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R&D tax credits
How to claim R&D tax relief
R&D tax relief can open up valuable new cash flows for your business, enabling you to re-invest in growth. We help businesses all over the UK reclaim millions of pounds from HMRC. If you’d like to find out more about how to maximise your claim, then you should speak to Haines Watts.
What are R&D tax credits?
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.
With 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 by contacting us today, or speaking to a local Haines Watts office to explore R&D tax claims.
What our clients say
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 FabricationsHaines Watts R&D Numbers...
Total claimed
80
No. of claims
80
Enhanced tax deduction
80
Average claim
Claim steps
1. Introductions
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.
2. Fact find
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.
3. Report
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.
4. Claim submission
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.
5. Money back
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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