There
are thousands of pounds being lost in tax relief by eligible companies
every year. This reflects the common misconception that Research and
Development (R&D) is confined to manufacturing plants, tech giants
or research laboratories, when in reality, the ideas and inspirations
that move industries forward have their roots in everyday innovation by
the professionals on the ground.
R&D tax relief is the government’s way of rewarding businesses that invest in innovation.
This innovation can be in the form of developing new, or improving
existing products, processes, services, devices and materials or
advancing the state of knowledge in their sector.
You can get a deduction from your corporation tax bill or even receive a
cash payment from HMRC for your R&D tax credit claim.
Key stages in ascertaining an R&D tax credit claim include:
• Discussing your technology in detail to figure out if it does indeed qualify
• Evaluating your technology with consideration of which R&D
Specialist Unit will be looking at it (different ones have subtly
different criteria)
• Preparing a technical narrative that presents your technology in the best possible way to minimise the chances of an audit
• Calculating the size of the claim based on HMRC’s ever-changing
criteria (which are also specific to each R&D Specialist Unit)
• Filing the claim directly with a specialist unit to ensure that it is
looked at by a specialist (and not an HMRC inspector who suddenly takes
an interest in tax credits but has never looked at a claim before)
• Following up on that filing to ensure it is looked at promptly
• Providing a first line of defence when handling questions from HMRC
(including ones about the technology), so that unless an audit is
requested, you don’t even need to worry about the claim and just wait
for the money to come in
• If an HMRC audit does occur, prepping key tech and finance members of
your team so that they know how to answer questions in the most
favourable way, and sitting in the audit meeting with you to help handle
HMRC questions.
Ascentant can help you determine if your business activities are
eligible for tax relief and will maximise the claim you make by
identifying the biggest relief possible.
If you would like to find out more, contact Ascentant on 01332 897356 or info@ascentant.co.uk