Research & Development (R&D) remains a highly beneficial area for those companies carrying out qualifying work. Historically it has been an underused relief with HMRC and Government seeking ways to highlight the availability of the relief.
As part of this on-going initiative, HMRC have published a document on R&D designed to ‘Make R&D easier for small companies’. It does contain some useful summaries and case studies for those who are unfamiliar with the relief.
As a reminder, R&D tax relief is available to companies that are developing a product through an advance in science or technology by overcoming scientific or technological uncertainty.
For small to medium sized companies (SMEs), the relief takes two forms:
- Firstly, enhanced R&D tax relief – for every £1 of qualifying costs spent on R&D, the company receives a deduction in calculating their taxable profit for corporation tax purposes of £2.30.
- Secondly, for loss making companies up to 33% of the qualifying cost can be available as a tax refund.
The Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme which pays a taxable credit of 11% of qualifying expenditure may also be relevant to SMEs, for example where they are carrying out work for larger companies.
HMRC’s new guide goes through some of the factors to consider in determining whether projects would qualify for R&D relief, but does highlight that the relief is not just for ‘white coat’ scientific research, but also for other “development work in design and engineering that involves overcoming difficult technological problems”.
It also includes case studies on certain areas, such as food, ICT and construction. The food case study for example notes that, “Creating an innovative chilled food container that provides a substantially longer shelf life than currently available, would […] qualify. The scientific or technological uncertainties to be addressed are in the interactions between the food, gas content and container to keep the food fresh for longer. By contrast, the work in dealing with authorities to comply with extended use-by date regulation would not qualify.”
Eaves and Co has dealt with a number of R&D claims and have a proven track record in completing successful claims and can offer assistance in all aspects of the claim process. If you would like to discuss how we can help, please get in touch.