R&D tax credits overview

Rewarding innovation and fuelling growth, R&D tax credits have the power to transform your company.

What are R&D tax incentives?

Research and development (R&D) tax incentives are a government incentive designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation. They are a valuable source of cash for businesses to invest in speeding up their research, recruiting employees, and expanding overall.

How do R&D tax incentives work?

Companies that spend money creating new items, procedures, or solutions; or enhancing current offerings are qualified for R&D tax relief. If you’re investing in your innovation, you can apply for R&D tax relief to receive either a cash payment and/or corporate tax deduction. The range for qualifying R&D is vast – in fact it is present in every single industries. And if you’re filing a first-time claim, you can generally apply for R&D tax credits for your last two completed accounting periods.

Is my company qualified for R&D tax credits?

To benefit from R&D tax incentives, your business needs to:

Operate as a UK limited company that is subject to Corporation Tax.

Have carried out eligible R&D activities.

Have spent money on these projects.

Who qualifies for R&D tax incentives?

R&D can take place in any sector. It occurs in everything from cheese-making to chemical development, production and building to renewable energy.

What counts as R&D?

The government’s R&D guidelines are purposefully broad. Regardless of size or sector, if your business is taking a risk by attempting to ‘resolve scientific or technological unknowns’ then you may be performing qualifying activity. This could include:

Creating new items, processes, or services.

Modifying or altering an current item, process, or solution.

If you’re not sure if your project is possible or hamilton loans you’re unsure how to accomplish it practically, you might be addressing technical unknowns and be performing qualifying R&D.

Within the government’s accepted research and development definition, R&D does not need to have been fruitful to qualify.