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R&D Tax Relief – Schemes & Case Studies
Companies that have not yet considered how their products or services may fall within the definition of Research & Development (R&D) for tax purposes are likely to be missing out on significant tax savings through R&D tax relief.
R&D tax relief rewards companies that are seeking advancement in the state of knowledge in their sector. In the definition for tax purposes1, R&D does not necessarily mean the development of a new product. R&D can involve development of new or improved products, processes, services, devices or materials. Importantly, R&D is not limited to a particular industry. For example, R&D claims can be made in industries such as retail (e.g. improved processes), IT and telecommunications (e.g. software development), food and beverage (e.g. innovative recipes), engineering (e.g. new materials), manufacturing (e.g. automation) as well as the more well-known R&D industries such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and energy. (more…)
Patent Box
The Patent Box, like R&D tax relief (see last week’s post here), is a very much underclaimed relief. In 2014-15 only 1,135 claims were made, although this resulted in claims valued at £651.9m. 94% of this value was claimed by large companies even though such companies only accounted for a quarter of the claims made.
So, what is Patent Box?
As R&D tax relief is enhanced to encourage scientific and technological innovation based on costs incurred, Patent Box is a tax relief for profits made from scientific and technological innovation, whether that be a product or a process. (more…)
R&D Tax Relief – The Common Misconceptions!

You don’t have to be wearing a white lab coat to be able to claim R&D tax relief! (pixabay.com)
Whilst Research & Development (R&D) tax relief is now an adult, given that is has been in the UK tax legislation for over 18 years, there are many companies still not claiming the relief they are entitled to or are only scratching the surface in their claims.
Most companies don’t claim because they are simply not aware. HMRC estimate that around 200,000 companies in the UK could be claiming R&D tax relief but only around 40,000 actually do.
As a reminder – to an SME a claim uplifts qualifying costs by an additional 130%, substantially reducing a tax liability or, in the case of losses, an increased loss that can be surrendered in return for 14.5% cashback from HMRC, whether or not that company has paid any tax in the past! A claim can be submitted up to two years after the end of the accounting period.
What are the three main misconceptions or barriers to make a claim? (more…)