R&D tax credits > Client sectors > Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Source HMRC R&D tax credits statistics 2021
The statistics published by HMRC for 2019-20 are provisional and have been uplifted to include estimates for claims not yet received.
When a good grower or farmer wants to understand their crops or livestock yield we can see innovation. Whether it’s improving their crop yield, or finding ways to save money on site. For example the process of tracking pests and testing different pest control processes, the development of effective fertilisers or adapting and trialling new atmospheric conditions.
Qualifying expenditure is apparent in the development of new machinery and components or the adoption of existing components in a new or non-obvious way. Many agricultural businesses are building new processes to reduce waste or reuse waste products in novel ways, e.g. biofuels.
This sector includes the following types of business.
Yes, agricultural businesses can claim under either scheme depending on their size and other deciding factors. Of the R&D tax relief claims made in 2017-18 so far, 90% of them were under the SME scheme equating to 83% of the value claimed.
Yes, agricultural businesses that have already claimed for R&D tax credits might find that they could claim even more by applying for the Patent Box scheme. However in 2018-19 only 20 agricultural businesses claimed corporate tax relief under Patent Box, so potentially the agriculture sector is missing out on this opportunity.
