How to help my client with R&D tax relief claims

R&D tax consultants may be the authority on helping support innovative businesses, but it is not uncommon for accountants to want to help clients too.

As economic pressures mount on businesses and the UK focuses on regaining its position as a global leader of innovation, you might be wondering how to help your clients with R&D tax relief claims.

While the best way to help clients with R&D is through engaging with an R&D tax consultant, you should still be equipped with the knowledge to help your clients get started.

How do I begin to help my client with R&D tax relief claims?

If your client is planning to submit their first R&D tax relief claim, or the first one in three years, then they will need to complete an Advanced Notification Form (ANF) first.

ANFs need to be done within six months of the end of the business’s accounting period.

Without this, the R&D tax relief claim will be automatically rejected regardless of whether it is the most innovative project on the planet.

An ANF will also be necessary if your client has submitted an R&D tax relief claim as an amendment to their CT600, rather than as an original return.

With this aside, you also need to understand whether your client has a valid R&D project that is worth submitting an R&D tax relief claim for.

An R&D tax consultant is best positioned to help your client with this, as they understand the nuances that can lead to projects being accepted or rejected by HMRC.

For R&D to be eligible for an R&D tax relief claim, it must seek an advance in science or technology that:

• Is significant in the sector.
• Cannot be readily deduced by a competent professional.
• Involves some degree of technical uncertainty.
• Features work conducted during the financial year.

If you have a discussion with your client and find that any of these criteria are not met, then you cannot help that client with an R&D tax relief claim, as it is ineligible.

Similarly, it is necessary to complete an Additional Information Form (AIF) when submitting an R&D tax relief claim.

This will be done alongside the breakdown of costs and serves to demonstrate to HMRC why the project qualifies.

While you are well-positioned to help your client crunch the numbers, an R&D tax consultant is better able to help craft a technical narrative that meets HMRC’s view of what counts as valid R&D.

How do I provide long-term help for my client with R&D tax relief claims?

Once you have successfully been able to help your client formulate their first R&D tax relief claim, you can look to empower them with better practices going forward.

This means learning more about the work that they do and ensuring that only qualifying R&D projects are captured by R&D tax relief claims.

This is best done in conjunction with an R&D tax consultant, as they are able to provide expert support to improve the quality of their submissions.

With the threat of HMRC enquiries a constant factor in filing R&D tax relief claims, accountants may struggle to fully help clients without expert support.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme (MREP) means that even quality R&D tax relief claims can be subject to an enquiry.

When this happens, the best way to help your client is by getting the support of an R&D tax consultant.

We are adept at handling enquiry defence for valid claims, helping HMRC understand when a project should qualify and helping to resolve any identified issues.

By working with innovative businesses and accountants, we have worked to unlock more of the potential from R&D tax relief claims.

You want to help your clients and we want to help you.

Speak to our team to start helping clients with R&D tax relief claims with confidence.

Adam Bointon