Find out how much you could claim back. Many of our clients find that they could be awarded at least £50,000 by HMRC.
R&D Tax Credit Calculator
Complete our R&D tax credit calculator to find out how much tax relief you could potentially claim
Don't worry if you can't input the exact figures into our R&D tax credits calculator - estimated values will still give us a good idea of what your claim may be
Please Note: The results generated by our R&D tax credits calculator provide an indicative value range only, as factors like company size and accounting period can affect the final claim. This information should not be included in documents submitted to HMRC. For accurate guidance, please contact randd.
Great news... it looks like you’re eligible to claim back some of your spend!
BASED ON THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED, WE COULD HELP YOU CLAIM BACK BETWEEN:
R&D REPORT
- Across all sectors, the average amount reclaimed for our clients is £
- In the sector, the average amount reclaimed for our clients is £
CLAIMS MADE BY COMPANIES IN YOUR SECTOR
Claim Value:
Date:
Did you know?
We have successfully claimed over £252 million in R&D Tax Credit, across multiple sectors, often for clients who didn't expect to be eligible.Here’s your R&D Report, !
R&D REPORT FOR
Based on the information you provided, it looks like we could help you claim back up to £ for .
- Across all sectors, the average amount reclaimed for our clients is £50,000.
- In the sector, the average amount reclaimed for our clients is
CLAIMS MADE BY COMPANIES IN THE SECTOR
SOME OF THE CLIENTS WE HAVE WORKED WITH IN YOUR SECTOR
Get in touch to start your claim today!
HOW CAN RANDD CREATE EXTRA VALUE FOR YOU?
Our proven track record has demonstrated that randd can help you claim back up to 12x more value compared to their accountants, self submission or an alternative R&D agent
Gain up to 9x more R&D tax relief with an expert team that handles R&D claims for a living.
Your accountant won’t have the time or knowledge to fully recognise all of your R&D activities or to maximise your claim. In our experience, most tax management teams don’t have the expertise either.
Only seasoned R&D tax claim professionals know how to claim back as much as possible. Our experts leave no stone unturned, and put together thorough claims that are almost impossible for HMRC to pick holes in.
The result is that we often win back claims up to 9x greater than if you simply left it to a non-specialist accountancy team.
How much in R&D tax credits can my business claim?
It depends on which category your business falls under. Let’s take a look at the different categories below so you can have an idea of the scale of your R&D activity and costs — and the factors that influence our R&D tax credit calculator results.
- Your SME is profitable: In addition to the tax relief your company’s eligible R&D expenditure generates as part of its normal operational costs, a further 86% can be deducted from the yearly profit. That means with an R&D tax credit incentive of up to 21.5%, if you spent £500,000 per year on R&D you could potentially claim back up to £107,500 as a tax refund or reduced tax liability.
- Your SME is loss-making: A payable credit can be claimed by loss-making SMEs. With an R&D tax credit incentive of up to 18.6%, if a company spent £500,000 per year on R&D it could potentially claim back up to £93,000.
- Your SME is loss-making, but is R&D ‘intensive’: To be defined as R&D intensive constitutes at least 30% of a company’s total expenditure being spent on research and development. Businesses in this category are eligible for an R&D tax credit incentive of up to 27%, which means if you spent £500,000 per year on R&D you could potentially claim back up to £135,000.
- You’re making a claim on behalf of a large company: By offering a tax credit of 20%, companies can claim back up to 20p for every £1 spent on qualifying R&D activities. Whether the company is making a profit or loss is immaterial. If a company spent £500,000 per year on R&D, it could potentially claim back up to £100,000.
Read more on how the claims process works with large companies via our RDEC page.
How are my R&D tax credits calculated?
For SMES — here’s how your credits are calculated:
To qualify as an SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), your company must have fewer than 500 staff and a turnover of under 100 million euros or a balance sheet total under 86 million euros.
The R&D tax credit calculation for those claiming under the existing SME scheme involves:
- Deducting an additional 86% of their qualifying costs from their yearly profit, as well as the normal 100% deduction, to make a total of 186% deduction
- Claiming a payable tax credit if the company has claimed relief and made a loss; the payable credit is worth up to 10% of the surrenderable loss
The exception to these guidelines is loss-making SMEs that are classed as being R&D intensive. If an SME’s qualifying R&D expenditure is at least 30% of their total expenditure, they can claim a higher payable tax credit rate of 14.5% for qualifying R&D expenditure.
Here’s how we use the R&D tax credits calculator to work out the total expenditure figure on which you can claim R&D tax relief. We:
- Work out the costs that are directly attributable to R&D
- Reduce any relevant subcontractor or external staff provider payments to 65% of the original cost
- Add all costs together
- Multiply the figure by 86%
- Add this to the original R&D expenditure figure
Note: This guidance applies to claims for accounting periods that began no later than 31st March 2024. Companies can make retrospective claims for the previous two years.
For larger companies (RDEC) — here’s how your credits are calculated:
Larger companies are covered by the RDEC scheme. These are defined as having more than 500 staff and a turnover of more than 100 million euros or a balance sheet total over 86 million euros.
It also applies to SMEs who are not available for the SME scheme due to having received grants or subsidies, or which have been subcontracted to carry out research and development work by a large company.
Whether the company makes a profit or loss, some or all of the research and development expenditure credit may be used to settle the company’s Corporation Tax liabilities, or those of another company within the same group.
This R&D tax credit calculation needs to be at a rate of 20% of the company’s qualifying R&D expenditure.
Here’s how we use the R&D tax credits calculator to work out how much you could win back under the RDEC scheme. We:
- Work out the costs that are directly attributable to R&D
- Reduce any relevant subcontractor or external staff provider payments to 65% of the original cost
- Add all costs together
- Multiply the figure by the expenditure credit rate of 20% to get the expenditure credit
Note: This guidance applies to claims for accounting periods that began no later than 31st March 2024. Companies can make retrospective claims for the previous two years.
Which R&D tax scheme applies to my company?
On April 1 2024, the R&D tax schemes changed. For accounting periods that began on or after that date, the Merged scheme replaced the separate schemes for SMEs and large companies.
These changes were designed to improve and simplify the system to calculate R&D tax credit.
It means that going forward, SMEs and large companies are now grouped under the same umbrella with an R&D tax credit rate of 20%.
The only exception to this is for loss-making SMEs that are classed as R&D intensive, i.e. more than 30% of the company’s total expenditure is spent on research and development. They will receive a 27% tax credit.
But remember, the merged scheme only applies to accounting periods that began on or after April 1 2024.
For expenditure incurred prior to that date the SME scheme and RDEC scheme will still apply, and claims can be backdated two years. Hence the SME and RDEC schemes will not become obsolete until April 2026.
R&D tax relief example — Find out what your claims process could look like.
First step, our team will identify your qualifying R&D spend. Key areas typically include: direct staff costs, contractors and any outsourced R&D work costs, any consumables and raw materials you may have used, and software licences. We will also calculate how much time your company has spent on each of these key areas during the accounting period.
If you are in profit, we will boost your qualifying expenditure. SMEs for example can deduct up to 130% of their qualifying expenditure from their annual profits if they meet certain conditions.
Then we will uncover your taxable profit and calculate your new corporation tax and use this information when making your claim.
Loss-making companies will have their qualifying expenditure examined and this information used to either offset future taxable profits or be handed over to HMRC in return for tax credit.
R&D tax credit calculator — General FAQs.
Many companies able to claim back R&D tax relief are in manufacturing and engineering. But any business creating or developing new products or processes may be eligible, in a wide variety of sectors.
This question is answered in more detail in our ‘Who is eligible?’ guide
In the 2023 Autumn Statement, the government announced reforms to R&D tax credit relief that would come into effect from April 2024 and which were designed to simplify and improve the system. The latest budget in 2024 had no further impact, and it will be April 2025 before the first claims are made under the decisions made from the 2023 Autumn Statement.
For accounting periods that began on or after April 1 2024, the RDEC and SME schemes were merged into one, apart from loss-making SMEs that are R&D intensive – which means more than 30% of their total expenditure is incurred on research and development.
The figure of 30% is a reduction from the previous 40% and SMEs which cross that threshold in terms of their expenditure on research and development will qualify for the new SME intensive scheme.
An R&D tax credit rate of 20%, the same as for the discontinued RDEC scheme, applies to the merged scheme, while loss-making R&D intensive SMEs will receive a 27% tax credit. Use our R&D tax credit calculator to work out what this will mean for you.
To qualify as an SME, and therefore be eligible to be classed as R&D intensive, a company must have fewer than 500 staff and either a turnover of under 100 million euros or 86 million euros gross assets.
You will also need to consider whether the decision to carry out R&D activity sits within your company or elsewhere in the supply chain. Generally, companies will not be able to make a claim if R&D has been contracted to them.
Read more in our guide: 2024 changes to R&D tax credits explained
R&D tax credits are the subject of continual review by the government to ensure they are serving the purpose, and to best effect, for which they were designed.
In 2023, when the rates of relief were revised, the government said the R&D tax credits schemes were being reformed “to ensure public money is spent effectively and best supports innovation”. What this meant was that the reforms were intended to increase and encourage R&D activity, with the aim of generating private investment and a boost in economic growth.
Figures published by HMRC showed that both the SME and RDEC schemes were successful in promoting additional R&D expenditure.
Studies from the Treasury showed that for every £1 of support, the RDEC scheme incentivised £2.40–£2.70 of additional private R&D expenditure, and the SME scheme incentivised an additional £0.60–£1.28.
Another modification which has impacted the amount of R&D tax relief a company can claim centred upon which types of expenditure qualify for inclusion.
For instance, cloud computing and data acquisition costs (where they directly relate to R&D activity) have extended the scope of qualifying expenditure. Such costs are common in certain industries, e.g. within technology, media and telecommunications companies.
Also, the definition of R&D for tax reliefs has been expanded to include all mathematics, clarifying in particular that ‘pure maths’ can qualify.