For those businesses who push boundaries and adopt a forward-thinking approach, research and development tax relief continues to be one of the most valuable tax incentives available.
The latest HMRC statistics in this report are encouraging and show that the number of claims is continuing to increase on an annual basis, and likewise the value of an average claim is rising year on year too. However, these statistics do pre-date the impact of the pandemic and it's worth noting that the R&D landscape is set to face some big changes in the coming years, which could impact the number of businesses supported by the relief.
As of 1 April 2023, the scope of relief will expand to include data and cloud computing costs, but we’ll also see R&D activity which is subcontracted outside of the UK excluded. HMRC will also be introducing a number of new measures to clamp down on fraudulent and improper claims, including the requirement of further detail to corroborate claims. But if you already work with us, HMRC's new measures won’t have a huge impact, as we already provide the level of detail that HMRC requires in our R&D reports.
With changes afoot, it’s more important than ever to have a clear understanding of how your claim compares to businesses in other regions and sectors, to make sure your claim stacks up. Likewise, if you’re not claiming already, find out how much you could be missing out on.