Confirmed date for the merged R&D tax relief scheme

The headline news is that plans for a single R&D tax relief scheme, which merges the SME and RDEC schemes, is confirmed to go ahead for accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2024. This confounds earlier speculation that there would be a delay. This does at least give us some certainty on the timelines, although it is indicative of the continued fast pace of change around R&D tax relief.
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The Autumn Statement, a pivotal moment on the UK’s fiscal calendar, promises a glimpse into the government’s economic roadmap and policy priorities. With this year’s Autumn Budget fast approaching, the government’s plans for R&D tax policy are hotly anticipated, and here is all you need to know ahead of next week’s announcement.

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Yesterday HMRC released the latest statistics for the usage of the R&D tax relief and Patent Box schemes. Here’s an initial view of this year’s numbers.

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As part of HMRC’s focus on the R&D tax relief scheme, an additional information form was introduced and is now a statutory requirement to complete for all R&D claims. The additional information form must be submitted before filing your company’s Corporation Tax return.
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You will have heard that soon, in some circumstances, HMRC will need advanced notice of your intention to claim R&D tax relief. We’ve been receiving a lot of queries from our clients and our partner accountants asking for clarification of this requirement, not least because the guidance provided is not particularly clear and appears to contradict the draft legislation. We asked HMRC to clarify and hope that we can explain further here.> Read more

A headline in The Times, Saturday 20 May 2023 stated “Brace yourself for more HMRC chaos” and warned that new tax rules would mean more work for a tax office that is already struggling to cope with queries. This was raised in the context of personal tax affairs, rather than anything specifically around corporation tax or R&D tax relief issues, but it speaks to a system under strain. > Read more

The R&D tax relief advisory market is responding to ever-changing legislation, a more robust approach from HMRC, and uncertainties in future policy direction. Last week we hosted a roundtable discussion with Senior Tax Leaders to discuss how these issues are manifesting for us and our clients.
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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.

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From the conversations that I’ve had recently, many accountants have noticed a change in stance from HMRC whose approach has become more forceful and their tone more combative in enquiry matters relating to R&D.
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With increased scrutiny of the R&D tax relief scheme by HMRC, accountants are having second thoughts about keeping this service in-house. Is now the time to re-evaluate the benefits of a compliance-led partner to support you in the preparation of your clients’ R&D tax credit claims?> Read more

Unsurprisingly, HMRC are turning up the heat on R&D tax relief claims, and what was once deemed a quick win by business owners, accountants, and agents are now becoming a much more considered approach to tax. There has always been a requirement to evidence and justify compliant activity but from April 2023, the requirement is to produce a technical report.
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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.
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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%.
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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.
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The latest statistics showing the value of R&D tax relief and Patent Box were published by HMRC today. What does an initial look at this year’s numbers tell us?
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Core to this question is balancing the cost of making a claim vs the benefit your business receives in tax relief. Of course, this depends both on the amount of R&D qualifying expenditure on one side against the cost to the business of time, resources, and specialist advice in making a claim.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

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There were a number of proposed changes relating to the R&D scheme in the Autumn budget 2021. In the Autumn HMRC published their proposals and launched the consultation process to seek feedback on the proposed changes.
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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”.
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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.
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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.
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, presented his Autumn Budget and Spending Review to Parliament on Wednesday 27 October 2021. There were very few surprises when it comes to R&D, innovation, and Patent Box tax relief. Many of the announcements were made against the context of the recent R&D consultation, see our response here.
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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.
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It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that the UK is hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow at the end of this month.
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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?
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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

GovGrant, the R&D and IP specialists, has today announced the acquisition of Luvo Financial. GovGrant sees this as a significant opportunity for both parties as the R&D market consolidates.
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Today we launched Elevation, a new tool that allows accountants to take control of R&D tax claims and support them through the process with access to additional expert help and resources as required. Elevation is free of charge to our accounting partners. Elevation will help accountants drive the R&D tax conversation with clients. But more than that it will allow accountants to generate low-value R&D tax credit claims on behalf of their clients.
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A recent report by David Connell, Senior Research Associate, Centre for Business Research Cambridge Judge Business School, seeks to reappraise the objectives of the R&D tax credit and Patent Box schemes.
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R&D and innovation specialists GovGrant have today revealed the UK economy is failing to capitalise on its world-leading academic prowess and intellect by not translating its R&D into commercial gain and creating intellectual property (IP).
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First announced nearly a year ago, as part of the 2020 budget, it seems that the government is set to go ahead with the £800m investment into a new “blue skies” science research agency. If it was welcome in 2020, it is surely essential now with everything that has happened in the interim.
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Over 2020, through the Covid crisis, we at GovGrant helped almost one thousand innovative UK companies, and over hundred investors, achieve value and investment returns from innovation. This led to over £45mn of timely capital flow, helping companies sustain their business in difficult times.
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We at GovGrant have 15 years’ experience of helping innovative UK companies, and their investors, achieve commercial value from innovation. With our Rocket into 2021 campaign, we are looking in-depth at the UK private capital markets, and how to help clients and investors improve cash flow and valuation in these difficult and volatile times.
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We all know how hard and volatile 2020 was for the UK economy. UK public equity indices crashed 30% from close to all-time highs over the period from January to March. They have since recovered at least half of the lost ground. The bounce back in the US, led by technology and high growth sectors, was much stronger and led to new all-time highs.
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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.
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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.
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For the first time ever, HMRC have independently reviewed the Patent Box scheme to understand if it is an effective tool in the government R&D agenda or if it needs to scraped.
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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.
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HMRC recently reported on the outcome of a first-tier tax tribunal case investigation into an R&D tax claim, in the case of Hadee Engineering Co Ltd (Hadee). Hadee made R&D claims for the periods ending 30 April 2009 and 30 April 2010. HMRC challenged the claims asking if the expenditure was incurred in the relevant periods, whether the projects qualified as R&D under the BIS guidelines and whether the expenditure was incurred as part of a contract and whether the expenditure had been subsidised.
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Now that I have had some time to digest the recent update from HMRC in respect of the R&D tax credits and Patent Box statistics, there are three things that have stood out for me:
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The latest Research and Development Tax Credits and Patent Box statistics have been released today by HMRC. It’s encouraging to see a year-on-year increase in claims for R&D tax relief but once again, the growth in Patent Box is woefully behind. More businesses are using the R&D scheme, which is great. However, overall business investment in innovation has only seen a marginal increase.
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I am a change agent, always have been. I love to challenge the status quo of our business, with a drive to improve the outcomes for our clients. We should always be on our toes, asking ourselves how we do this quicker, better, and smarter.
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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.
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As businesses look to recover from this year’s crisis, investment in R&D is a vital step for a sustainable UK economic recovery. In their latest Inside Accountancy podcast, Accountancy Age’s Leanna Reeves speaks to GovGrant’s Luke Hamm to assess how tax incentives should be further targeted to encourage investment from organisations into R&D projects.
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There has been much talk about the regulation surrounding R&D tax advisors and it is a welcome conversation. I would love to work with like-minded advisors to keep evolving the conversation. To find the right framework for this industry today, and just as importantly, where it goes next.
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In the UK companies are able to claim tax relief for their R&D activity. This government scheme is designed to boost innovation by supporting businesses that seek to improve or overcome challenges or uncertainties in their products and processes. We know that businesses in Scotland have a proud tradition of innovation and invention but are Scottish businesses being awarded the tax benefit they are entitled to?

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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.
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On 1 July 2020, the government released an R&D Roadmap to set out a vision to attract global talent, cut unnecessary bureaucracy, and cement the UK as a world-leading science superpower.
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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

HMRC recently reported on the outcome of a first tier tax tribunal case investigation into an R&D tax claim.

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GovGrant – a seat at the table when policy is discussed

Over the years our business has grown as a direct response to government initiatives to encourage innovation in the business community. Using our experience and expertise, we now have a seat at the table when government and businesses discuss the best way to reward innovation in the UK. We aim to influence policy by representing our clients.
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Commenting on HMRC’s analysis of UK R&D tax credits in its report, published today Luke Hamm, CEO of innovation tax specialist GovGrant, which has helped businesses claim back over £200m for their R&D, said: “The good news is that the number of claims by UK SME businesses accessing the tax credits system has increased by 22% between 2015-16 and the end of 2017. 77% of all claims are from SMEs, and there’s been a welcome 15% increase in the number of first time SME applications.”

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Hebden Bridge-based Urban Cottage Industries has secured £90,000 under the R&D tax credit scheme. The company is a bespoke manufacturer of high quality, retro and vintage style lighting equipment, aimed at professional designers, architects and engineers. CEO Stanley Wilson said the money had made a big difference to the firm, which invests heavily in innovation, at a time when tough market conditions made it a challenge to pay their day-to-day bills.

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The CEO of one of the UK’s leading innovation tax specialists has called for contingent fees to be fully embraced by clients seeking the best possible outcome for their R&D and innovation tax credits strategy. Luke Hamm, CEO of GovGrant, which specialises in helping firms claim tax credits from their innovation and intellectual property, which is then re-invested, said that contingent (or success fees) were a better means of deriving full value from a claim than fixed fees or hourly rates.

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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.

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GovGrant, the innovation tax specialist that helps businesses secure tax breaks for their R&D and intellectual property, has targeted ‘vertical farming’ for future business development. GovGrant CEO Luke Hamm said that vertical farming provides ethical solutions to the problems of mass population, as well as practical opportunities to commercialise food production by adopting new practices in an industry that hasn’t much changed for thousands of years.

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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.

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GovGrant CEO Luke Hamm has welcomed HMRC’s (HM Revenue & Customs) decision to crack down on abuse of the R&D tax relief system. GovGrant, which is a member of the HMRC Research and Development Consultative Committee, helps businesses claim millions each year for their innovation, including patents and inventions. Luke said he hoped ministers would move quickly to protect the reputation of the tax system and force out unscrupulous agents in time for new rules on tax credit coming in April next year.

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The UK’s biopharma and medtech sector is a world class sector with potential for stellar growth, according to Luke Hamm, CEO of GovGrant, which helps companies in the sector obtain commercialise their innovations, including R&D tax credits. Commenting after the publication of the government’s Office For Life Science’s (OLS) statistical survey of biotech and medtech in the UK, Luke said: “The report underlines the vital importance of this sector to the UK economy, with a quarter of a million employees, turnover of nearly £75bn and over 6,000 businesses across the four key areas.” [biopharma, biopharma service and supply, med tech core and med tech supplier businesses.]

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GovGrant, the innovation tax credits specialist, has appointed Dominic Bartholdi as head of sales. GovGrant, [which is based in St Albans] helps businesses take advantage of government tax credits for innovation, R&D and intellectual property such as patents. The proceeds are then ploughed back into the businesses to generate more investment in innovation. Luke Hamm said Dominic’s arrival comes on the back of a record quarterly trading performance with turnover increasing by over 30% at the end of last year.

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Innovation tax specialist GovGrant is delighted to confirm today that it has been accepted as the research and development/intellectual property partner of Insurtech UK. GovGrant joins the 40+ insurtech startups and insurance-related businesses who have joined as associate members and partners since the Insurtech UK alliance – which plans to become a formal trade association in the next few months – informally launched in November 2018.

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Honda’s decision to close its Swindon car plant by 2022 has been hijacked by the politics of Brexit. No surprise there, but the closure also blows a big hole in the government’s industrial strategy, which placed some big bets on the development and production of electric vehicles in the UK.

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Australian government proposals to restrict tax incentives for R&D and innovation have been delayed following an outcry from business and research groups. The proposals, intended to save £1.2bn capped cash refunds for research activities at $4m, introduced a new ‘intensity test’ for larger companies to favour higher, more intensive R&D investment, and significantly increased compliance and enforcement measures, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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The government is giving more of a boost than ever before to the UK’s most innovative companies, according to the latest full-year statistics from HMRC.

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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.

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GovGrant, the St Albans-based innovation and R&D tax credits specialist, has welcomed government plans to develop localised industrial strategies, including for Hertfordshire, but has urged ministers to keep their focus on supporting the strategy at a national level too.

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As is usual, politics took centre stage following the 2018 Budget. Labour was under scrutiny after the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, indicated that, unlike his boss, he would not oppose the government’s personal tax changes. In the Times, leading economist David Smith noted that while the budget ‘must be judged as a political success,’ the level of public debt continues to be a cause for concern.

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GovGrant, the innovation and R&D tax credits specialist, has welcomed the government’s commitment to the agri-tech sector following the outcome of a government-sponsored roundtable earlier this month, where ministers announced a further £30m investment (on top of £90m already committed via the Industrial Strategy) to enable farmers to buy into technology.

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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.

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GovGrant, the innovation tax incentive specialist, has joined the All Party Design and Innovation Group (APDIG), a parliamentary body made up of MPs and Peers that champions innovation inside and outside Parliament.

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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.

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The government is giving more of a boost than ever before to the UK’s most innovative companies, according to the latest full-year statistics from HMRC.

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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.

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Charles Darwin said that ‘it’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is most responsive to change.’ He was citing the animal kingdom, but (if he was still with us) he could equally be channeling the UK aerospace sector, one of the UK’s most important industries.

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This year saw only three insurtechs in the FCA Sandbox out of 29 firms in total.

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The insurance industry is missing out on claiming back research and development (R&D) tax.

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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).

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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.’

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

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Q. You’ve had a number of senior roles in private equity-backed businesses, and in private equity, so what was the attraction of joining GovGrant?

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Insurtech is the buzzword in the insurance industry right now, with dozens of UK start-ups all trying out new ideas and often hungry for investment cash. But what can they do to increase their chances of getting off the launch pad? Is there anything companies can do to get more government help?

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

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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’.

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

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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.

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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.

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Business innovation funding and tax relief specialist GovGrant has been shortlisted for a prestigious global award.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Last night, GovGrant hosted a dinner at the House of Commons with a number of MPs, industry experts and our clients to discuss how government should support the SME community. The focus was on the question, ‘If the R&D tax credit system is driving innovation and productivity, why is uptake still low and what should be done to give SMEs better IP protection and understanding?’

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

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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.

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