BY MICHAEL NEWMAN FROM QUANTUM TAX
SEVEN WAYS TO
MAXIMISE R&D The SME Research & Development Tax Relief scheme supports companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology. The average R&D claim is currently more than £80,000, and is usually taken as a BACS payment, paid directly into the company’s bank account. It is an important relief which all SMEs that solve technical problems should consider. So, if you carry out one-off projects, do bespoke work for clients, engage in trial-and-error developments, then you may well be eligible for R&D tax credits.
So, let’s move on to how you can maximise your R&D tax credit claim…
DON’T MISS YOUR DEADLINE This is the big one. If you were to make a claim now, you could claim for all the activity done in the two years up to your last year end date. As an example, let’s say your year-end is 31 March 2021. If you file your R&D tax return before 31 March 2021, you can include all of the development work done in the two years from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2020. If, however, you file after 31 March 2021, then all of the work done from April 2018 to March 2019, is lost – you can’t claim for it.
