Rewarding innovation and fuelling growth, R&D tax credits have the power to transform your business
When developing a new product, process or service, or refining an existing one, R&D is one of the earliest phases. Experimentation and innovation is often rife at this stage, along with risk. The R&D cycle often begins with the feasibility stage, followed by research and exploration and then into design and development which may include a great deal of time and subsequent building of prototypes.
This will incur a great deal of costs to the company which can be claimed within the scheme.
Whether you’re already claiming R&D tax incentive or not, Consultiv Utilities can help your business. By working with us, you can unlock R&D tax incentives and ensure you’re getting the reward you deserve for your R&D investment.
What are R&D tax credits?
Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a government incentive designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation. They are a valuable source of cash for businesses to invest in accelerating their R&D, hiring new staff and ultimately growing.
Is my business eligible for R&D tax credits?
To benefit from R&D tax incentives, you must:
- Be a limited company in the UK that is subject to Corporation Tax.
- Have carried out qualifying research and development activities.
- Have spent money on these projects.
Who qualifies for R&D tax credits?
R&D can take place in any sector. It occurs in everything from cheese-making to chemical engineering, manufacturing and construction to renewables.
What counts as R&D?
The government’s R&D criteria are purposefully broad. Whatever size or sector, if your company is taking a risk by attempting to ‘resolve scientific or technological uncertainties’ then you may be carrying out qualifying activity. This could include:
- Creating new products, processes or services.
- Changing or modifying an existing product, process or service.
If you’re not sure if your project is possible, or you don’t know how to achieve it in practice, you could be resolving technological uncertainties and be carrying out qualifying R&D.
Further detail is available in our article:
How do I know if I’m carrying out qualifying R&D?
Within the government’s accepted research and development definition, R&D doesn’t have to have been successful to qualify.