Research & Development tax credits - can you make or defend a claim?

The Research & Development (R&D) tax credits help companies to invest more in R&D either by reducing a company's tax bill or, for some loss-making small or medium sized companies (SMEs), by providing a cash sum. In today's economic climate, the tax relief can help many companies, particularly (but not exclusively!) in the technology, construction, engineering, manufacturing, software, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, fund the technological advances needed to keep them competitive.

Although the R&D tax credits are available to companies throughout the UK many miss out because they don't think they are involved in qualifying R&D, don't understand the rules or have missed deadlines for making a claim. The increase in rates of relief make it even more important for companies to review whether they are performing R&D for which they should be making a claim.

It's not just companies that are affected. Advisers that have failed to spot a company's entitlement to R&D tax credits, or failed to advise on making a claim within the appropriate time frame, or have incorrectly advised a company to take a grant for a R&D project thereby losing it a potentially more valuable R&D tax credit, all could be on the receiving end of a professional negligence claim.

Can you make or defend a claim?

Wragge & Co's experts investigate the position.