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HMRC Patent Box statistics 2019 – our commentary

The Patent Box scheme scheme is the UK government’s initiative to reduce the corporation tax for innovative companies. HMRC has provided information on the number of companies claiming corporation tax relief under the Patent Box scheme and the value of claims for the year 2017-18 so far.

Key points to show the value of Patent Box to innovative business in the UK

Source HMRC Patent Box 2019

Patent Box claims since the scheme began

3.8bn in tax relief claimed since the scheme began

Updates to 2016-17 – compared to previous year

1% increase from previous year
3% decrease from previous year
37% increase from previous year

Claims in the tax year 2017-18

Large accounted for 95% relief claimed
Over half (55%) of the companies that claimed were in the Manufacturing sector
The number of companies claiming relief varies significantly across UK regions, with the highest number in the South East

Around a third (31%) of companies were classified as ‘Large’, but they accounted for 95% relief claimed.

Over half (55%) of the companies that claimed were in the Manufacturing sector (including pharmaceuticals).

The number of companies claiming relief varies significantly across UK regions, with the highest number in the South East (17%) and the lowest in the North East (3%). There is also significant regional variation in the value of relief claimed, companies in London claimed more than half (51%) of the total relief.

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Comments from our CEO, Luke Hamm

SMEs are receiving a tiny percentage of the value of the Patent Box scheme. The stand out statistic is that 94% of tax relief is claimed by large companies.

R&D is a good indicator of a company’s potential for a Patent Box claim – it’s a conversation that every R&D tax relief claimant should be having.

I still feel concerned about the stark contrast in value and uptake between the R&D and Patent Box schemes.

See other years’ HMRC statistics

HMRC Patent Box statistics 2020
Patent Box case studies

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