For many businesses, investing time and money into researching and developing their products or services is a significant part of how they operate. Making resources available specifically for the purpose of a research project geared towards innovation can be rewarded by HMRC in the form of Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits.
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Businesses can qualify for R&D tax credits if they can show their project has an element of risk and technical uncertainty and will bring something new to the market if successful.
Speaking of the R&D scheme, Nick Park, Partner at Green & Co Accountants and Tax Advisors, said:
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“R&D Tax Credits are tax breaks which work by reducing your taxable profits, and the scheme is designed to help companies who make a concerted effort to innovate, regardless of whether they are in profit or not.
“Relief for an SME can be as much as 230% of the eligible expenditure, so it can make a huge difference. This is a very complex area and many businesses may not realise that the projects they are working on will contain elements which could qualify for R&D.”
One such business is Edwards Diving, a maritime civil engineering firm based in Bedwas who has been a client of Green & Co for six years. They are often engaged by larger organisations to help establish a means of undertaking underwater projects, including how to effect repairs on aged structures or accessing difficult areas.
Speaking of Edwards Diving and their R&D claim, Nick said, “The unique and high-risk nature of their work means that many of their projects qualify for R&D. Their success is often indeterminable until the related task has been started, and it has occasionally been necessary to develop reverse engineering to rectify a situation which has not gone according to plan.”
With support and advice from Green & Co, Edwards Diving was able to submit a successful claim which has allowed the business to reinvest and further perfect its service to its clients.
Jo Edwards, Director of Edwards Diving, said, “As a specialist engineering company, our work is niche and doesn’t always fit the predefined categories or descriptions that HMRC use. By developing an understanding of our business and working closely with our Project Manager, Green & Co was able to submit a compliant and successful R&D tax relief submission which was a fantastic result. Without Green & Co’s advice and helpful support, we would not have understood or qualified for R&D.
R&D monitoring now forms part of our routine management systems and allows us to reinvest into the business on a consistent basis.”
Any company who are unsure as to whether they can claim R&D tax credits should consult a reputable accountant.
