Research & Development Tax Reliefs

Research and Development (R&D) reliefs support companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology.

Research and Development (R&D) reliefs support companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology. It can be claimed by a range of companies that seek to research or develop an advance in their field. It can even be claimed on unsuccessful projects.

You may be able to claim Corporation Tax relief if your project meets the government's definition of R&D.

Projects that count as R&D

The work that qualifies for R&D relief must be part of a specific project to make an advance in science or technology. It cannot be an advance within a social science - like economics - or a theoretical field - such as pure maths.

The project must relate to your company’s trade - either an existing one, or one that you intend to start up based on the results of the R&D.

To get R&D relief you need to explain how a project:

  • looked for an advance in science and technology
  • had to overcome uncertainty
  • tried to overcome this uncertainty
  • could not be easily worked out by a professional in the field

Your project may research or develop a new process, product or service or improve on an existing one.

Types of R&D relief

There are different types of R&D relief, depending on the size of your company and if the project has been subcontracted to you or not.

 

If you would like advice and support on claiming tax relief on an R&D project, get in touch with our helpful business advisors