Why Use An R&D Tax Specialist | An Accountant's Guide

The scope of 'Research & Development' covers a range of activities that are focused on innovating what a company can offer. That may mean working on ideas for new products or services. It could even include more wide-ranging tasks, such as investigating and trialling new ways to enhance business modelling. In any case, HMRC administers a scheme which allows companies to claim tax relief on their qualifying R&D expenditure. That means there’s an opportunity for companies to save substantial amounts of money, depending on the nature of their R&D activity. This is why it's vital to be up to speed with R&D tax policy.It may be wholly worthwhile for your company to spend some time putting together and submitting an R&D Tax Credit claim. But in order to get the most lucrative claim possible, you’ll want to bring R&D tax specialists into the process. They are best placed to assess the business and pinpoint what expenses are appropriate to claim. Most businesses will be surprised to find out there are a number of expenses that can actually be claimed. Some businesses may not even be aware of the scheme itself. This is where drawing on the expertise of an R&D tax expert could make all the difference.

Opportunities missed if you don’t work with an expert

One of the biggest reasons to work with an R&D tax specialist is so that you don’t miss out on any potentially available tax relief. The majority of UK companies fall into the category of Small and Medium-seized Enterprise (SME). Of these, as many as two thirds may be eligible for R&D tax credits. However, most have never submitted a claim. There are three key reasons for this:

• The majority of businesses are not aware that their R&D activities make them eligible for tax relief.
• Many businesses lack the expertise or knowledge to go about making a claim for tax relief on R&D. For instance, some may not know that you can, in fact, claim expenses related to R&D even if it wasn’t successful.
• Businesses often worry that the claims procedures will be too complicated, too time-consuming and, consequently, too expensive to pursue.

The benefits of using specialist services for R&D tax credit claims

For growing companies with ambitions to expand and innovate, R&D is an essential part of that process, so it merits the use of the services which a specialist in R&D Tax Credits can offer. It is a complex area requiring the right knowledge and experience at each step.

• Pre-claim, the specialist knows what information needs to be gathered and they're able to collate it in an efficient, targeted, and insightful way. R&D may involve various personnel in the company, and their individual contributions need to be assessed and measured.
• A specialist will be able to bring forward sector-specific knowledge, educating you, and bolstering the quality of the claim.
• The drawing up of the documentation for the claim requires a particular approach to detail and organisation that a specialist can produce due to extensive experience regarding what HMRC expect from a well-constructed claim. Conversely, they know what to avoid in order not to draw unnecessary attention to a poorly put together claim, often with incomplete information, which may then be questioned by HMRC specialists.
• Once the claim is submitted, it may be subject to an audit by HMRC and, again, the specialists can provide support and guidance in what may be not only one meeting but several, depending on the complexity and extent of the claim.    

Given the UK’s recent exit from the EU, it is a commercial imperative that UK companies invest as much as possible to thrive in competitive global markets. The best way to do that is to free up potential capital to plough back into the company. Using specialist knowledge will save time and increase the chances of fully understanding corporate R&D tax credit entitlements and the creation of a claim which has a good chance of being accepted and paid in full.

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