R&D Tax Credits
Research and development (R&D) tax credits can help reduce your company's tax bill. Our quick guide covers how it works and how to claim.
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Research and development (R&D) tax credits can help reduce your company's tax bill. Our quick guide covers how it works and how to claim.
GET IN TOUCHOver 90% of businesses recommend us.
There are many UK businesses out there who aren’t taking advantage of research and development (R&D) tax credits. Whether you’re not sure how they work, or you don’t think you’re eligible, you might be surprised — if you spend money developing new products, processes, or services, you could be able to recoup some of your expenditure.
If you’re a profitable SME spending up to £250,000 on R&D, you stand to recover up to £61,750 as a tax refund or reduced tax liability. Pretty good going.
You’ve lost nothing by using our R&D calculator to see what you could be owed.
What are R&D Tax Credits? How do R&D Tax Credits work? What qualifies as Research and Development (R&D)? Types of R&D relief Is my business eligible for R&D Tax Credits? How to claim R&D Tax Credits R&D Tax Credit Calculation Examples R&D Tax Credits Calculator How far back can you claim R&D Tax Credits?
Regardless of whether you’re an SME or a large company — if you work on innovative projects in the science and technology space, you can receive research and development tax credits, also known as R&D tax relief, from the Government.
The Government introduced these credits as a way to reward companies investing in innovation to further develop in their field.
If you’re investing in the development of new products, processes, services, or even if you’re just revisiting existing projects, your company could be eligible to claim R&D tax credits. The Government wants to encourage UK companies to invest in innovation, keeping the UK front and centre when it comes to innovation.
Each sector has its own scope for helping you understand what projects you can claim for. When you make an R&D tax credit claim, you will receive either a reduction on Corporation Tax or a cash payment. You can recoup up to 33p for every £1 spent on qualifying costs, so it’s worth finding out if you’re eligible.
Learn more about what qualifies as research and development (R&D) below.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you could be eligible for R&D tax relief. But to qualify, you have to have initiated qualifying research and development activities — this is the biggest hurdle for businesses.
So, if you’ve created new products, processes, or services. Or you’re hoping to change or amend a current product or service, you could qualify. Learn more about qualifying activities and expenditures below.
The definition of R&D is pretty vast, so even if you think you don’t qualify it’s always best to seek help. Here are some examples of research and development (R&D) qualifying activities:
The type of R&D relief you can access depends on the size of your company, and whether or not the project has been subcontracted to you.
If you have less than 500 employees, and turnover under 100 million euros or have a balance sheet totalling under 86 million euros, you can claim SME R&D tax relief.
This type of credit is reserved for large enterprises, previously available under the large company scheme. You don’t have to be a large company to access this type of R&D Tax Credit — if you’re an SME and you’ve been subcontracted to do research and development work by a large company, you can also access it.
Gov.uk states: The RDEC is a tax credit, it was 11% of your qualifying R&D expenditure up to 31 December 2017. It was increased to 12% from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2020, and then to 13% from 1 April 2020.
To be eligible for R&D Tax Credits, you must:
Still not sure if you’re eligible? get in touch, and our friendly team will call you back.
You can claim your research and development tax relief by submitting your expenditure into the full Company Tax Return form (CT600). You must submit a claim for each accounting period.
You’ll need to provide some details to support your claim. Details such as a short summary that explains how your R&D project meets the requirements. And if you’re claiming for more than one project, you must supply a summary for each.
You will also be required to supply the start and end dates of the accounting period relating to the R&D activity and details of your qualifying R&D costs. And don’t forget to save your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number, as they’ll require this, too. Your UTR can be found as soon as you log into HMRC with your Government Gateway login details.
The account you’re able to recoup per £1 differs depending on the size of your company and whether you’re profitable or not.
As an example, if you’re a profit-making SME, spending up to £50,000 on research and development — you could stand to recover around £12,350.
But, if you’re a large company, spending around £250,000 a year, you could expect to receive £26,325.
If you’re wondering just how much you could recoup, use our calculator below to find out an estimation.
| Your Business | R&D Tax Credit Incentive | RDEC Incentive |
|---|---|---|
| Loss-making SME | Up to 33% | 13% |
| Profit-making SME | Up to 25% | 13% |
| Large Company | n/a | 13% |
Use our quick and simple calculator to work out how much you could recover in R&D tax relief.
Please remember, this is just an estimation, apply now to find out exactly how much you can recoup. In some cases, SMEs may need to claim using the RDEC scheme instead, or use both incentives. This is why it is essential to seek professional advice.
Two years. The time limit to claim research and development tax relief is two years. Before the two-year period ends, you must submit a claim for all qualifying expenditure relating to R&D activity.
Here at Capalona, we’re brokers. This means we work with reputable UK advisors and providers to help you get great deals for your business. We want to see your business succeed, so that means providing the most straightforward business service on the market.
Our partners can help you squeeze as much as possible out of your R&D tax credits - they can help you qualify your research and development projects, and manage any risks in your claim. Qualifying costs might have been missed, and it’s our UK partners’ responsibility to scour through your qualifying expenditure with a fine-tooth comb to ensure you’re getting the most tax credits possible.
Our aim is to help businesses get the best deals and save money, without sacrificing value, and that’s exactly what we do. We offer business costumes an unbiased forum to find, research and compare business deals.
What are you waiting for? get in touch and find out how much your business could recover from HMRC.