R&D Tax Credits are a very niche part of the UK tax code that could
bring your company thousands of pounds in tax relief.
Quarrying & Mining
Quarrying
Turning big rocks into little rocks to sell may seem a straightforward process. As an owner or operator of an aggregate production operation, you’ll know this couldn’t be further from reality.
Success in the mining and quarrying sector thrives on research and development (R&D). It often hinges on the result of substantial trial and error — a behaviour the government’s R&D tax credits scheme has been readily awarding since the year 2000.
Yet when it comes to claiming R&D tax credits, the mining and quarrying sectors are among the worst offenders for not taking full advantage of this lucrative tax benefit. Some aren’t even claiming at all. You could also be missing out on tens of thousands of pounds to put straight back into your business and spend however you choose.
Mining
One of the chief reasons for mining and quarrying companies not or underclaiming is that the stereotypical image of R&D sits firmly in the world of white lab coats rather than hi-vis jackets. Many of the daily activities that you regard as merely day-to-day operations could be eligible for a lump sum or a reduced corporation tax bill.
Both mining and plant production processes carry an uncertainty of failing to produce material that passes laboratory testing. Even when this happens and materials no longer meet the business’s commercial needs, there’s still a lot of potential to claim.
To eliminate this uncertainty, aggregate companies often employ numerous team members in a perpetual trial-and-error process. Wages of quarry managers, production managers, lab analysts and other engineers typically qualify as R&D — along with expenses paid to third-party technical consultants.
