In the Spring Budget, March 2022, some changes to R&D tax relief were announced. From April 2023, several changes were proposed to the regimes from both existing relief schemes, including the expansion of relief to cloud and data computing.
Claims for relief will have to be made digitally, and more detail will be required within the claim. Each claim will need to be endorsed by a named senior officer of the company, and companies will need to inform HMRC in advance that they plan to make a claim. Claims will also need to include details of any agent who has advised the company on compiling the claim.
If you are considering claiming Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs for the first time, this article gives you some information to consider.
What sort of company can claim R&D tax relief?
R&D reliefs support businesses that work on innovative projects in science and technology. It can be claimed by a range of companies that seek to research or develop an advance in their field.
Are there specific criteria that need to be met to claim R&D tax reliefs?
Projects that qualify for R&D relief must be part of a specific project to make an advance in science or technology, and it must relate to your business. You need to explain how your project will:
- Looked for an advance in science and technology
- It had to overcome uncertainty
- Tried to overcome this uncertainty
- It could not be easily worked out by a professional in the field
Your project may research or develop a new process, product or service or improve on an existing one.
There are different types of R&D relief, depending on the size of your company and if the project has been subcontracted to you or not. These include small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) R&D Relief and Research and Development Expenditure Credit. For full details, look at this link – Claiming Tax and Development tax reliefs.
Please contact us if you would like any advice about R&D tax relief. We can advise on whether your project would qualify for R&D Tax relief and which type would be most suitable. Plus, we can support you through the claims process. You can call us on 01623 490 120 or by email at