GovGrant R&D specialists logo – A Source Advisors company

R&D tax relief hits the headlines for the wrong reasons

Posted on Wednesday 19 July 2023 by Akshay Thaman | IP Consultant & Policy Lead

You may have seen that the R&D tax relief schemes have been hitting the headlines again this week. There has also been a flurry of activity and information from HMRC that you may not be aware of. So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to run you through it, explain what it means for the future of the schemes and what our, GovGrant , opinion is.

> Read more


Spring Budget 2023 – our initial response

Posted on Wednesday 15 March 2023 by GovGrant

What did the Chancellor announce in the Spring Budget today?

The R&D tax relief schemes were again mentioned by The Chancellor of Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt today, as a follow-up to announcements in the Autumn statement.

There are a lot of moving parts at the moment, see the technical detail note here. With a new relief for R&D intensive SMEs who will qualify for an enhanced rate of R&D tax relief, a delay to restrictions on overseas expenditure from 2023 to 2024, and the potential move to a single, combined RDEC and SME scheme in April 2024.

> Read more


Contingent fees – a positive sign that we’re aligned to our clients

Posted on Friday 25 November 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

In recent press coverage, I’ve noticed that some commentators have used the term “no win, no fee” as a derogatory indicator of poor practice. That it forms part of this “rotten” R&D market that encourages fraudulent and negligent behaviour from some R&D tax providers. I think that this is just lazy, and for me, is just as blunt as the cut to the SME scheme.
> Read more


Autumn Statement 2022 – our initial response

Posted on Thursday 17 November 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

What did the Chancellor announce in the Autumn Statement today?

The R&D tax relief schemes were specifically mentioned by The Chancellor of Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt today. In response to reports of abuse and fraud in the SME scheme, he has announced a cut in the enhancement rate to 86% (from 130%) and the tax credit rate to 10% (from 14.5%). For the RDEC scheme, the rate will increase from 13% to 20%.
> Read more


Firms cash in on questionable tax credits – our thoughts

Posted on Wednesday 2 November 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

You may have seen an article in The Times this weekend, titled ‘Free money from HMRC’: firms cash in on questionable tax credits. The article highlights that “The taxman has lost an estimated £469 million to fraud and error under a multibillion-pound scheme”. Last year the total amount claimed under the R&D tax relief schemes was £6.59bn.
> Read more


Are Scottish businesses still missing out when it comes to R&D tax relief and Patent Box?

Posted on Tuesday 9 August 2022 by Colin Barr

We know that businesses in Scotland have a proud tradition of innovation and invention but are Scottish businesses benefitting fully from HMRC’s innovation incentives? These schemes are designed to support businesses that seek to improve or overcome challenges or uncertainties in their products and processes.
> Read more


Small Business Equity Tracker – how are the UK’s innovative SMEs faring?

Posted on Tuesday 26 July 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The British Business Bank recently published the latest news from the Small Business Equity Tracker. We take a look at the detail to find out what it tells us about the UK’s innovative SMEs and how they are attracting equity investment.
> Read more


Legislation Day – HMRC’s draft changes to R&D tax relief schemes

Posted on Thursday 21 July 2022 by Clive Flood | Chief Operating Officer

Yesterday (Wednesday 20 July) was what HMRC refer to as Legislation Day, on which they publish the draft legislation changes that have now been submitted to parliament to receive Royal Assent and be passed into law. This is expected to take place over the Autumn which will then come into effect for full accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2023.
> Read more


UK Digital Strategy – full on intent but lighter on new policy

Posted on Thursday 30 June 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The UK Digital Strategy policy paper was published on 13 June 2022. It reconfirms the government’s intent to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a technology business and it seeks to outline this vision and the actions required to deliver it.

> Read more


Get ahead with your R&D tax relief

Posted on Wednesday 22 June 2022 by GovGrant

Your R&D tax relief claim can’t be an afterthought

For too long, and for too many, R&D tax relief has been a tick box exercise of tax planning. However, HMRC has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to abuse of the R&D tax relief scheme. This change of tack is well overdue and should protect the integrity of the schemes.

> Read more


What’s changing in the R&D tax relief market?

Posted on Wednesday 9 February 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The conversation that GovGrant has been having with our clients over the last 5 years has evolved. We started with “have you heard about R&D tax credits” then “have you maximised your R&D tax credit claim”. Today we can maybe assume that more of the right people are claiming, and getting value from their R&D tax relief claims. So now we’re moving to “are you sure you’ve got it right”.
> Read more


How to select the right R&D advisor for your business?

Posted on Wednesday 9 February 2022 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

There are currently a lot of players in the exceptionally crowded space of R&D tax credits. As a consequence, there are probably a lot of conflicting messages. These range from “get hundreds of thousands of pounds in 30 minutes with zero risk” to “the wolf is at the door so proceed with serious caution”. As always the truth is somewhere between those two positions.
> Read more


Latest R&D tax relief scheme changes, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2021

Posted on Thursday 2 December 2021 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

What was announced in the Autumn Budget 2021 concerning R&D tax credits?

Following on from that consultation reforms that were announced in the Autumn Budget 2021, the government:

  • support modern research methods by expanding qualifying expenditure to include data and cloud costs
  • more effectively capture the spillover benefits of R&D funded by the reliefs through refocusing support towards innovation in the UK
  • target abuse and improve compliance

Today we got more of the detail of these reforms and understood more of the next steps.
> Read more


Day of reckoning for unscrupulous R&D tax providers as HMRC comes calling

Posted on Thursday 4 November 2021 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The latest statistics showing the value of R&D tax relief were published by HMRC in October 2021. And as we noted at the time the total value of R&D tax relief for 2019-2020 is now projected to be nearly £7.5bn – a big number.
> Read more


HMRC’s statistics for R&D and Patent Box tax relief – GovGrant commentary

Posted on Friday 1 October 2021 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The latest statistics showing the value of R&D tax relief and Patent Box were published by HMRC yesterday. What does an initial look at this year’s numbers tell us?
> Read more


Proud to launch Elevation at the Digital Accountancy Show

Posted on Wednesday 8 September 2021 by Sharon Veness | Accountant Partnerships Manager

GovGrant recently exhibited at The Digital Accountancy Show, a one-day exhibition specifically focussed on digital transformation and the app ecosystem. It was great to meet so many people in person – rather than virtually. And even better to introduce so many accountants to Elevation, our R&D tax credit software built for accountants. > Read more


Intellectual Property Day – Unleashing the true value of IP for UK’s SMEs

Posted on Monday 26 April 2021 by Akshay Thaman | IP Consultant & Policy Lead

It’s World Intellectual Property Day, a day to celebrate and educate the world about the role that intellectual property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and how, when employed successfully, an idea can become an IP asset to create business value and drive sustainable economic growth.
> Read more


The new cap on the SME R&D tax credit scheme

Posted on Monday 7 December 2020 by Stephanie Taylor | Senior Tax Manager

Further to our blog outlining the impacts of the Finance Bill 2021 we have received an update to the guidance on the new SME cap from HMRC.
> Read more


R&D tax credit calculator – What is it really telling you?

Posted on Thursday 19 November 2020 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

We know that a lot of competitors have a “calculator” on their website or examples of R&D claims. We’ve never felt that this was necessary, not because it’s difficult or mysterious – but because it asks the wrong question and therefore gives you the wrong answer.
> Read more


Finance Bill 2021 – impact on R&D tax credits

Posted on Friday 13 November 2020 by Stephanie Taylor | Senior Tax Manager

HMRC have recently announced changes to the rules for R&D tax credits for SMEs. The new rules have been designed to target perceived fraudulent claims using structures set up in the UK to claim a repayable credit even though no R&D work was actually carried out in the UK.
> Read more


Furlough and R&D tax credits: Can you claim relief?

Posted on Wednesday 16 September 2020 by Vanessa Cooper | Group Technical Tax Manager

We have had some clarification from HMRC on how companies furloughing staff deal with claims under the SME R&D tax relief or Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) schemes. It’s important to realise that the rules are different under each of these schemes. But also that small and medium enterprises can claim under the RDEC scheme.
> Read more


HMRC’s hallmarks of Research and Development

Posted on Wednesday 8 July 2020 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

In the recent HMRC consultation regarding the R&D tax credit cap for SMEs, they talked about a need to identify and rely on ‘Hallmarks’ of R&D to ensure that claims that are being made are bona fide and not an attempt to play the system.
> Read more


HMRC confirms the State Aid rules for each new Covid-19 loan scheme

Posted on Friday 29 May 2020 by Vanessa Cooper | Group Technical Tax Manager

GovGrant sits on the Research & Development Consultative Committee (RDCC) to represent UK’s business when it comes to the operational delivery of the R&D tax relief schemes. This is an HMRC-sponsored forum, and as members we receive regular updates as HMRC advice evolves and develops. We are currently in an unprecedented period of change, with the introduction of new and vital measures to support business British business.> Read more


Unleashing Opportunities – GovGrant leads the way at SME event

Posted on Thursday 27 June 2019 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

GovGrant collaborated with four other firms aiming to help SMEs maximise their innovation opportunities at a June event in partnership with Business Funding Show. It was the first in a programme of GovGrant sponsored events. We invited the other organisations to share the platform in order to give innovative companies a fully-rounded insight into available funding sources (debt, equity, grant and, of course, the R&D tax credits and Patent Box schemes) to support a continuous cycle of innovation within their organisations, and all the business benefits that ensue.

> Read more


GovGrant’s Charlie Whitehead blogs on a fascinating day with the entrepreneurs of Manchester

Posted on Thursday 13 June 2019 by GovGrant

Last month I attended Connected Investing held in Manchester University’s Bright Building. The Connected Investing event series is delivered through a partnership between UKBAA (UK Business Angels Association), the trade body for early-stage investing, and Innovate UK, part of the government-funded UK Research and Innovation.

> Read more


The real Sir James Dyson question: What has Singapore got that the UK hasn’t?

Posted on Wednesday 30 January 2019 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Sir James Dyson’s decision to move his corporate HQ from the UK to Singapore has unleashed a storm of Brexit-related comment. Sir James, one of the UK’s most successful inventors, is a prominent Brexit supporter, and he has been widely criticised as hypocritical on social media and in the MSM.

> Read more


GovGrant calls for more R&D investment after latest EU stats rank UK at 11, well behind EU competitors

Posted on Friday 11 January 2019 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Commenting on the latest R&D figures from Eurostat [Estimates of Research & Development expenditure – 10 January], where the UK ranked 11th among EU member states for R&D expenditure in 2017, Luke Hamm, chief executive of innovation tax credits specialist GovGrant, said:

> Read more


Employment Law and Innovation Funding – upcoming Cambridge event

Posted on Thursday 10 January 2019 by GovGrant

Business financing – cash flow and employees are key assets in every organisation and while the full impact of Brexit on business remains to be seen, business owners should take every opportunity to reinforce these critical areas now and for the future.  GovGrant, the UK’s leading specialist in Government incentive funding schemes and Peninsula an award-winning provider of HR, Employment Law & Health & Safety support services would like to personally invite you to attend a brief but invaluable complimentary event for business owners at 9.30am on Tuesday 5th February 2019 at The Hallmark Hotel, Cambridge.

> Read more


GovGrant welcomes new government initiative to help small businesses

Posted on Monday 10 December 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Luke Hamm, chief executive of innovation tax specialist GovGrant, has welcomed the government’s announcement that it is to introduce new laws to protect small businesses against unfair contracts that stop them raising money from unpaid invoices.

> Read more


GovGrant urges boost for productivity and innovation in the October Budget

Posted on Tuesday 23 October 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

GovGrant, the innovation and R&D tax specialist, has urged the Chancellor to use the tax system to boost the UK’s army of inventors and innovators in the Budget on 29 October.

> Read more


Innovation statistics: the government could do better says GovGrant

Posted on Monday 1 October 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The Chancellor has announced that Budget day 2018, one of the busiest news days in the financial calendar, will be earlier than expected, on 29 October.

> Read more


GovGrant featured in The Business Magazine

Posted on Wednesday 5 September 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Entrepreneurial businesses can capitalise on their innovations by taking advantage of government incentives. R&D tax relief adviser GovGrant’s chief executive officer Luke Hamm tells Tim Wickham why more UK companies should consider claiming the relief and protecting their intellectual property.

> Read more


Why SMEs are not accessing R&D tax credits

Posted on Tuesday 14 August 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The Federation of Small Business (FSB) innovation survey stands out like a sore thumb. There are a huge number of SMEs not accessing or not even being aware of government support for their research and development (R&D).

> Read more


GovGrant calls for UK’s innovative businesses to take up Government R&D support

Posted on Thursday 9 August 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

GovGrant, the leading innovation tax relief specialist, has welcomed what the government has described as the ‘biggest increase in public R&D (research and development) funding for over 40 years.’

> Read more


Most small businesses are innovating

Posted on Wednesday 8 August 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Results from this year’s Federation of Small Business (FSB) innovation survey make for interesting reading.

> Read more


Breakfast with your local innovation partner

Posted on Tuesday 10 July 2018 by GovGrant

Come and join us for a free breakfast seminar on Tuesday 24th July 2018, in the heart of St Albans.

> Read more


Whose idea was it anyway?

Posted on Tuesday 26 June 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Anyone old enough to remember the BBC comedy series Harry Enfield and Chums may recall the wonderful public information film pastiche sketches which always ended with the phrase ‘Women, know your limits’.

> Read more


Shine a light on hidden innovation

Posted on Wednesday 20 June 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Hidden innovation needs to be brought out from the shadows and into the spotlight.

> Read more


Industry 4.0 A flashy catchphrase or the next industrial revolution?

Posted on Wednesday 16 May 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The term “Industry 4.0” originates from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government promoting the computerisation of manufacturing and adopted globally as a name for the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and cognitive computing. Industry 4.0 introduces what has been called the “smart factory,” in which cyber-physical systems monitor the physical processes of the factory and make decentralised decisions.

> Read more


Can the government help fund your manufacturing business?

Posted on Tuesday 15 May 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

It is certainly in the best interest of the UK to bolster the manufacturing capabilities of UK companies, especially during turbulent times when international trading relationships are in a state of flux. Some people might be surprised to learn that the government is doing something to address the situation.

> Read more


Lessons to be learned from TSB meltdown

Posted on Tuesday 1 May 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

“We apologise for any inconvenience you might be experiencing. If you wish to make a complaint, please contact us. We’ll do our best to put things right.”

> Read more


There’s a revolution going on way out west

Posted on Tuesday 24 April 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

It may be best known for cider and clotted cream, but there is a revolution going on in the South West of the UK with hi-tech companies springing up at a rate of knots.

> Read more


R&D tax relief: what, when and how

Posted on Tuesday 3 April 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

If you have a company that does a lot of research and development, you will want to look into the R&D tax claims you can make. In some cases, you can get reimbursement for up to 33% of your development costs.

> Read more


R&D tax relief: is it worth the effort?

Posted on Tuesday 27 March 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Getting a tax credit for making your business better and more efficient, or for bringing a new product to light, is a great thing. It can help you recoup costs that you had for the research and development projects you undertook.

> Read more


R&D spending, European trailblazers and Brexit implications

Posted on Thursday 22 March 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The new official bulletin on R&D spending statistics makes for fascinating reading from a business point of view. Produced annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), figures in the Gross domestic expenditure on Research and Development, UK: 2016 are the latest available.

> Read more


What can make claiming a R&D tax credit complicated?

Posted on Tuesday 13 March 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

When assessing research and development projects, knowing which ones qualify for R&D tax credits can help you plan your strategy and budget. When spending money on these types of projects, it is important to understand how these credits are calculated, and what it could potentially mean for your business. Companies can currently claim up to 33% of their expenditures through R&D tax claims.

> Read more


Helping businesses access grant funding is a piece of cake for Richard

Posted on Tuesday 6 March 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Richard Thompson has spent the largest part of his professional life offering help, support, and advice to small businesses.

> Read more


What to expect from GovGrant

Posted on Tuesday 27 February 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Are you the owner of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the UK and think that you could be entitled to research and development tax credits? By working with GovGrant you can eliminate the costly guesswork involved in making R&D tax claims by yourself.

> Read more


Industrial Internet of Things: Now is the time to be bold

Posted on Tuesday 20 February 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

The statistics are truly mind-blowing and should act as a wake-up call to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK. According to figures from The Centre for Economics and Business Research, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is likely to add an incredible £322 billion to the country’s economy over the next two years and create thousands of jobs in the process.

> Read more


Here’s hoping that Georgie will shine the spotlight on R&D

Posted on Friday 16 February 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

If I was being completely honest I am really not sure how I would react if a member of my team told me they were going to take a few weeks off from work so they could appear on a reality TV show. My immediate concern would be about how the actions of the person involved might affect the reputation of our business.

> Read more


What are the steps in completing an R&D tax credit?

Posted on Tuesday 6 February 2018 by Clive Flood | Chief Operating Officer

If you are a business owner or manager with a company presence in the UK, you may be eligible for research and development (R&D) tax credits. At GovGrant, our consultants focus on helping you to maximise your R&D tax credit claim no matter the size of your business or your principal products and services. We will help you to follow these simple steps to make sure that you are getting the most from your claim.

> Read more


Getting rid of scheme would be patently wrong

Posted on Tuesday 23 January 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

A long awaited report into tax credit relief was pretty much guaranteed to make waves because of its forthright views. The Institute for Public Policy Research did not hold back when it released its findings into the extra revenue that firms can access for carrying out research and development.

> Read more


Government needs to make sure that the support goes where it is needed the most

Posted on Tuesday 16 January 2018 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Everyone knows that running your own business is one of the toughest challenges out there in the professional world. It takes a mixture of guts, determination and self-belief to make a success of a small enterprise and the UK’s army of entrepreneurs need all the help and support they can get.

> Read more


Government gets it right on Innovation

Posted on Friday 24 November 2017 by Luke Hamm | Chief Executive Officer

Philip Hammond made it abundantly clear in his Budget that innovation and creativity are the driving forces behind the UK’s economy.

> Read more