Getting ready for the future of R&D tax relief

As part of wider tax reforms, the regime for research and development (R&D) tax reliefs in the UK is under review.  Businesses and the Government both want to see an R&D incentive that makes the UK an attractive place to invest in skills and also keeps the UK at the forefront of innovation in the future.

We’ve held discussions with businesses, and also listened to the responses to our survey of businesses who carry out R&D. Using this feedback, we’ve developed ideas for how the regime could change to benefit businesses and encourage innovation and skills.

Here are some of our recommendations:

• Make the incentive a credit so that it reduces the overall cost of R&D work.
• Increase the rate of relief for large companies to at least 10%.
• Simplify the rules around qualifying indirect activity and externally provided workers.
• Allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to claim for R&D work that is subcontracted to them.

We believe that these changes can help make the UK a competitive place for R&D, and at the same time represent value for money for the Government.

How can we help?

If your business qualifies for R&D tax reliefs, how do you go about making the most of this incentive?

If your company carries out R&D, our team can help you navigate the claims process and understand the qualifying criteria. We can also help you put reporting systems in place that will help with information for future claims.