United Kingdom 
Associated Worldwide with JHI R&D Tax Credit and Research and Development Tax Relief
R&D tax relief is a tax incentive from the UK Government designed to encourage companies to invest in R&D. The scheme has been around since 2000 and last year over 25,000 UK companies claimed almost £2.9bn in tax relief.
PROFIT MAKING?
230% R&D TAX RELIEF
Profit-making SMEs can reduce their corporation tax bill by up to 230%, e.g. an additional £130 deduction on top of £100 spent of qualifying R&D expenditure.
LOSS MAKING?
£33k FOR EVERY £100k
Loss-making SMEs can choose to surrender their loss and receive a tax relief by way of a credit – a cash refund paid by HMRC of up to £33,000 for every £100,000 spent on qualifying R&D expenditure.
Clients normally get their money 4-6 weeks after submission. Different rates of relief apply for larger companies with a turnover in excess of €100m. Contact us for further details.
WHAT ACTIVITIES QUALIFY FOR R&D?
HMRC qualify research and development as overcoming technological and scientific uncertainties or challenges; aiming at achieving a technological and scientific advance that couldn’t be easily worked out by a professional in the field.
Whatever size or sector, if your company is taking a risk by attempting to resolve these uncertainties, then you may be carrying out qualifying activity. This could include creating a new process, product or service or improving on an existing one.
It’s important to note that R&D doesn’t have to be successful to qualify for R&D tax credits. You can also claim for work undertaken on behalf of a client as well as your own projects.
In our experience, claims are often overlooked because business owners over-estimate the level of innovation required to claim.
OVER £22 MILLION SECURED
Jeffreys Henry LLP are specialists in hunting down every qualifying R&D cost and activity in your business.
In recent months, we’ve secured over £22 million of R&D claims on behalf of our clients.
QUALIFYING R&D EXPENDITURE
Turn your qualifying R&D costs into valuable tax relief
Staff Costs
The cost of directly employing staff who are actively engaged R&D activity. Staff costs can also include class 1 NIC, pension fund contributions and bonuses.
Externally provided workers and sub-contractors
The cost of paying a staff provider for staff provided to the company, or a sub-contractor who is directly and actively engaged in carrying out R&D activity.
Consumable items
Consumable or transformable materials used directly in carrying out R&D.
Software
Revenue expenditure incurred on computer software employed directly in R&D.
Utility Costs
Power, water and fuel used directly in carrying out R&D.
STARTING YOUR R&D CLAIM
Jeffreys Henry LLP provide an end-to-end service that makes claiming R&D tax credits easy for you.
1
FREE R&D ASSESSMENT
We talk to your finance and tech team to hunt down every qualifying R&D activity.
Call Now: 0207 309 2222
2
R&D NARRATIVE
We’ll work with you to document each R&D activity and split out the qualifying costs.
3
SUBMISSION TO HMRC
Once finalised, we’ll submit your claim to HMRC’s specialist R&D unit.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TAX RELIEF
FAQS
How much cash can I get back?
Profit-making SMEs can reduce their corporation tax bill by up to 230%, e.g. an additional £130 deduction on top of £100 spent of qualifying R&D expenditure. Loss-making SMEs can choose to surrender their loss and receive a tax relief by way of a credit – a cash refund paid by HMRC of up to £33,000 for every £100,000 spent on qualifying R&D expenditure.
Does my project qualify?
What costs don't qualify for R&D?
Rent: you can’t claim on rent but you can claim on the utilities used to power the space you are using for R&D. Hosting: often a cost thought to be claimable but is not a qualifying cost, even if you have specific test servers.
How many times can I claim?
You can claim R&D tax credits after each financial period (when you submit a corporation tax return) as long as you are creating a new advancement in science or technology.
How do I get my money?
If you are losing money, you can claim back up to 33% of your qualifying development spend in cash. In other words, you can get up to 33p back for every £1 you spend. If you are profit-making, your relief will offset your tax liability up to the amount of tax you owe. A profit making company, startup or SME can even get cash back if its R&D tax credit is greater than your corporation tax liability. In that case, you get the amount you’re owed in R&D tax relief that is greater than your tax liability back in cash. You can get cash back as well if you’ve already paid your corporation tax – often the case when we are filing an amended corporation tax return to cover R&D expenditure for your past financial years.
How long does the process take?
HMRC generally takes four to six weeks to process a claim after submission.
I use foreign subcontractors from outside the United Kingdom, can I claim on those costs too?
The use of sub-
How far back can I claim?
You can claim back two financial periods. For example, you can claim as late as November 2017 for a financial year that ended November 2015.
Can you work with my accountant?
We often work alongside existing accountants. We will prepare a technical report and a claim statement that your accountant can use when submitting your corporate tax return.
YOUR SPECIALIST R&D TAX TEAM
To maximise an R&D tax claim, you need to understand R&D, not just tax. We combine specialist tax expertise with hands-on R&D and product development experience.
For further information, or to arrange a free R&D assessment,
please contact Parminder Chattha or Ian Leigh on 0207 309 2222.
Parminder Chattha
Parminder is a CTA qualified Corporate Tax Specialist with significant R&D Tax experience.
Ian Leigh
Ian has advises owner managed businesses, public companies, private clients and trusts on the full range of taxes and has extensive experience of R&D Tax Relief.