R&D tax credits: is your business leaving money on the table?

Research and Development (R&D) tax relief is one of the most valuable incentives available to UK companies — and one of the most under-claimed. You do not need a laboratory: developing new products, processes, software or services, or appreciably improving existing ones, can all qualify.

What the relief is worth

• Merged scheme (accounting periods from 1 April 2024) — an above-the-line credit worth 20% of qualifying R&D expenditure, taxed as income, giving a net benefit of around 15–16.2%
• R&D-intensive loss-making SMEs — Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS) can be worth up to 27% of qualifying spend as a payable credit
• Qualifying costs include staff, subcontractors, software, consumables and cloud computing used for R&D

What actually counts as R&D

HMRC follows the BEIS guidelines: your project must seek an advance in science or technology and involve overcoming scientific or technological uncertainty. Routine software tweaks, cosmetic redesigns and copying existing solutions do not qualify — genuine problem-solving does.

Claim safely — HMRC scrutiny has increased

Following well-publicised abuse of the scheme, HMRC now checks a far higher proportion of claims, and an Additional Information Form must be submitted before or with your company tax return. A well-evidenced claim — clear technical narrative, accurate cost allocation — is the difference between a smooth credit and a long enquiry.

How we help

We assess eligibility honestly (we will tell you if a claim is weak), prepare the technical and financial evidence, file the Additional Information Form, and defend the claim if HMRC asks questions. Fees are fixed and agreed upfront.

Sources and further reading

• GOV.UK — Guidance: Research and Development tax relief
• GOV.UK — Merged scheme and ERIS guidance for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024
• HMRC — Guidelines for Compliance: help with R&D tax relief