Research and Development (R&D) tax relief is awarded to businesses that invest in innovation. This innovation can be in the form of developing new systems, processes, products, materials, devices, or any changes to the way your business works.
The chances are your business is doing R&D without even realising.
R&D occurs in a great variety of different industries, despite the misconception that this type of work is only carried out in laboratories or by scientists. We have worked with companies across almost all sectors in the UK, from HR and IT, to manufacturing and architecture.
Despite being available in the UK since 2000, it is still largely under-claimed. The latest statistics released from HMRC in September 2018 show that despite the abundance of innovation being carried out by businesses, only around 43,000 R&D claims were made in 2015-16. This is around 0.8% of the total number of businesses in the UK. The UK government is looking to increase R&D expenditure as a % of GDP over the next decade from 1.7% in 2016 to 2.4% in 2027 so there is an awful lot of focus on ensuring companies are continuing to invest in, and be given the appropriate reliefs for developing new innovations within their sector.
Although many accountants claim to be able to complete your R&D tax claim for you, the complex nature of this area of tax often requires a specialist. We recommend Catax, an industry-leading tax consultancy who specialist in this form of tax relief. They employ over 100 members of staff across the UK and can guarantee to maximise the claim that is made on your behalf.
At Catax, we are considered leaders in the marketplace for R&D tax relief and there are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, we submit over 200 claims per month with HMRC so our knowledge and expertise is vast, and our success rate is incredibly high. At the time of writing, we only have one enquiry open with HMRC.
We are also the only company who can claim partnerships with some of the UK’s top accountants and solicitors, as well as the Law Society, ICAEW, and the IFA amongst other industry bodies. This adds a level of assurance to our clients that we are working with the best in the business, and your claim will be managed properly.
So far, we have helped clients claim back over £242m in tax relief, which is often invested back into the business to fund further research projects, hire new staff or to improve business premises. As mentioned above, this is a relief that HMRC encourage businesses to claim as the money often goes back into the UK economy, so there really isn’t any reason not to try it!
If you’re interested in finding out whether your business could make a claim, please contact Catax on 0300 303 1903, or email MitMenquiries@catax.com for a free consultation.