for advisers
R&D tax claims - adviser support
Supporting those that advise innovative businesses
If you're looking to make claims for your own business,
head over to quantify.tax
By keeping good records of time spent on R&D projects, companies maximise their claims and reduce the risks involved with HMRC enquiries. Our studies show that tracking costs throughout the year tends to lead to 25-30% higher costs being identified than when costs are estimated after the year end.
Better processes lead to bigger, stronger claims.
What qualifies as R&D?
Claims typically include the following activities
PROTOTYPING
PRODUCT DESIGN
TESTING
PROBLEM SOLVING
RESEARCH
IMPROVEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Role of advisers
The role of R&D tax advisers has evolved.
It is no longer acceptable to offer a single service to all clients making R&D claims. As clients mature, the role of the adviser changes.
Spotting the opportunity
Clients rely on their advisers to make them aware of all the tax-related things that might be relevant to their business. This allows the client to get on with running their business. It is absolutely appropriate that advisers are in the driving seat for highlighting this opportunity to clients.
Education
R&D tax claims involve quite a few concepts which aren't all that obvious to those who haven't made claims before. There is therefore a key role for advisers to show clients what they can and can't claim for, and how the claims process works.
Enablement
As a client's knowledge and experience of making claims increases (we refer to this as the client becoming 'mature' in making R&D claims), the role of the adviser is to provide the client with the tools to make claims. No one knows the client's business better than they know it themselves and so the value of the adviser's role changes once they know the rules and the process. Enablement involves providing the tools and respecting the rules. Quality assurance and making sure opportunities haven't been missed - this is what only the adviser can do. Focussing on this allows everyone involved to play to their strengths.
Process
The right tools in the right hands at the right time.
The process of making a good R&D tax relief claim should be the same every year, but it should become more efficient for all involved year on year. This is achieved by sharing knowledge of what goes into a claim with the client, enabling the client to do more and for the adviser to spend more time advising.
Introducing technology to assist in this process helps create this efficiency, but that should come after the client has made their initial claims and learned what can and can't be claimed in the context of their business.
STEP 2
Cost Gathering
The difficult part of any R&D claim is accurately calculating the amount of time and money that has been spent on any given project. We have tools and methods to help companies work out the costs of their projects with minimum impact on the business.
STEP 4
Review
The R&D report is reviewed before it is submitted to HMRC. This review is carried out either by accountants with suitable experience in house, or it can be handled by our team of experts.
STEP 6
Tax Saving / Payment Received
This is the step most clients look forward to. The benefit is either in the form of a payment from HMRC or a tax deduction depending on the specific facts.
STEP 1
Define Project
The first step in undertaking R&D is defining your project in terms of what you want to achieve and what problems you are trying to overcome.
STEP 3
R&D Report
Once we have the project information and the costs involved we can produce a report aggregating all of this data.
STEP 5
HMRC Submission
Submitting the correct information to HMRC is vital in order to ensure to minimise delays. We provide the figures for the CT600 and the supporting report that HMRC require.
Contact us
If you would like to get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you as an adviser please email us at info@quantifyrnd.co.uk.
Alternatively, you can use the contact form below to send us a message.