For businesses, particularly those without an in-house accountancy team, R&D tax relief can be a maze. This is where your firm comes in, advising clients on how to prepare and submit successful claims – but we know it’s hard to know where to start!
We’re here to help you, but it’s important to understand the process that your clients will go through so that you lead the relationship with us. Our role is to enhance your R&D tax service.
This is what you need to know about assisting your clients when claiming R&D tax relief – helping your practice to stand out and meet all your clients’ needs.
Start early
Early preparation is the very first thing you and your clients need to consider for R&D tax relief, for two reasons:
- Advance notification – If your client hasn’t claimed in three years or is claiming for the first time, they’ll need to tell HMRC that they plan to claim before doing so
- Claim preparations – Successful claims now require a substantial amount of information, so you’ll need enough time to gather this.
This will also help you to establish whether your client is eligible for the relief and assess each R&D project on an individual basis.
Acting with integrity
Some businesses may have had a negative experience with other advisory services in the past. This issue was one of the reasons behind the Government’s decision to overhaul the relief scheme to require the Additional Information Form (AIF) – showing how ubiquitous it had become.
It’s important that you advise clients with integrity, transparency and accountability, only submitting genuine claims that have a reasonable chance of success.
This is where specialist advice can benefit even established in-practice tax teams. The requirements for the scheme are complex and have changed significantly in recent years, so external advice can help you to act in your clients’ best interests.
Establish eligibility
Your client may be eligible for R&D tax relief when they haven’t considered submitting a claim.
Alternatively, clients that do a lot of R&D work may be surprised that certain costs aren’t eligible.
Any eligibility or ineligibility should be communicated to clients with an explanation of why and what the next steps might be.
Prepare for enquiries
Enquiries from HMRC are now part of claiming R&D tax relief as HM Treasury clamps down on error and fraudulent claims. An enquiry is no longer a likely indicator of wrongdoing, particularly as HMRC engages with random checks.
To support your clients beyond submitting their claims, prepare them for the process of an enquiry and let them know how you will support them through it.
This is a great time to reiterate your commitment to preparing claims with integrity – reducing the likelihood of an enquiries and mitigating the impact of one if it does arise.
For support with advising clients on R&D tax relief, please contact our team today to discuss how we can help you.
