We explain r&d tax relief in plain English, handle it correctly, and make sure you claim every relief you are entitled to, all at a fixed fee.
R&D Tax Relief
Research and development tax relief rewards companies that develop new or improved products, processes or technology, by reducing Corporation Tax or, in some cases, giving a cash credit, but the rules are strict and have been reformed.
We assess whether your work qualifies for R&D relief, identify the qualifying costs, and prepare a robust claim that stands up to HMRC's increased scrutiny, so you get the relief you are entitled to without overreaching.
R&D relief is valuable but HMRC has tightened the rules and increased checks after widespread over-claiming, so a careful, well-evidenced claim on genuinely qualifying work is essential.
The Detail That Matters
Research and development relief rewards companies that develop new or improved products, processes or software by cutting Corporation Tax or paying a credit. It is valuable but heavily reformed and closely policed, so a careful, well-evidenced claim on genuinely qualifying work is essential.
The work must seek an advance in science or technology and overcome genuine technical uncertainty, not just be new to your business. It is not limited to labs: software development, engineering and process improvement often qualify. The key is a competent professional could not readily deduce the solution.
For accounting periods from April 2024, the SME and RDEC schemes were merged into a single above-the-line credit at 20%, with enhanced support for R&D-intensive loss-making SMEs. The mechanics and rates changed, so claims must reflect the current rules, not the old ones.
You can include staff costs, a proportion of subcontractor and externally provided worker costs, software, consumables and certain data and cloud costs used in the R&D. Identifying and apportioning these correctly is where the value of the claim is built.
HMRC now requires an additional information form and scrutinises claims closely after widespread abuse. A robust technical narrative and cost breakdown, prepared by someone who understands both the tax and the technology, is what gets a claim accepted and protects you from challenge.
The risk today is an over-optimistic or poorly evidenced claim: HMRC is rejecting and investigating many, so the goal is a genuine, well-documented claim on qualifying work, not the inflated claims some providers pushed in the past.
Key Figures
How We Help
We assess whether your projects meet the definition of R&D, seeking an advance in science or technology, and identify what genuinely qualifies.
We identify the qualifying costs, staff, subcontractors, software and consumables, and calculate the relief accurately.
With HMRC scrutiny high, we prepare a well-evidenced claim and technical narrative that stands up, so you get the relief without risk of a challenge.
All the forms, calculations and correspondence handled on your behalf, so you never have to decode HMRC's rules or sit on hold.
A clear fixed fee quoted after a free call, your position explained in plain English, and never a surprise bill.
We act quickly, and where earlier years are involved we put those right too, reclaiming refunds or minimising penalties.
R&D relief has been heavily reformed and HMRC now challenges many claims, so poorly prepared or overreaching claims are risky. A careful claim on genuinely qualifying work is where the value is, and that is what we do.
Recent Client Outcome
A software company building a novel data platform was unsure whether it qualified and was wary of the increased HMRC scrutiny.
What we did. We assessed the technical work against the R&D definition, identified the qualifying staff, subcontractor and cloud-computing costs, and prepared a robust technical narrative and the required additional information form.
The outcome. The claim secured a valuable credit against their Corporation Tax, was fully evidenced, and comfortably withstood HMRC review, giving the company real cash to reinvest without the risk of a challenge.
A genuine claim, prepared carefully and documented properly, delivered the relief safely, exactly where careless claims are now failing.
Why People Come to Us
Questions Answered
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