4 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS YOU CAN CLAIM BACK FOR.

In these uncertain times, businesses can’t afford to throw thousands away every year can they? Well, they are and you could be too.

There are currently billions of pounds of unclaimed innovation tax relief and that’s not a shock considering less than 1% of businesses are actively claiming.

Why? Simple. They don’t know that they can even claim in the first place...or what even categorises as a claimable research and development cost.

An eligible R & D cost would be any money spent developing or improving any products, services or processes. You may already be doing it and not even knowing. don’t worry, you’re in the majority. Hopefully the following list will break them down and explain.

Here are 4 Research and Development costs you can claim for:

1)      STAFF COSTS

Developing something new usually has some staff costs attached. You may have to hire some extra people to develop it and get it off the ground. Or hire someone on a subcontract basis or even a freelancer.

You can claim for it all.  Any staff you have hired to further improve a product, service or process all falls under research and development.

2)      MATERIALS

Depending on the business this may vary but there may be some material costs. For example, if a prototype has been manufactured or parts have been ordered to build a new product. again, this is a cost you could be claiming back on.

3)      SOFTWARE

This can also vary depending on the business. Software Cost could be any software you have had to purchase to either further develop or create something new. But let’s say your new product is software. You may incur some Software Development Cost. Either way, you can claim.  

4)      UTILITIES

You can even claim any water, lighting and heating used for any research and development purposes!

FACTS

-          UK paid out £4.3bn in claims in 2018

-          Over 30 bn is spent on R&D per year

-          Approximately 50,000 claims per year are submitted to HMRC (and that’s still less than 1%)

Your business could be losing thousands by not claiming on these Research and development costs and it isn’t just the four listed, there’s more!

It couldn’t be easier to check with companies like Areande. In a few clicks you can check if your company is eligible online. https://www.areande.com/check-eligibility/

Or if you want to check exactly how much you could be owed through the easy-to-use calculator, click here: https://www.areande.com/calculator/

The experts do it all for you so it’s a win, win!

You don’t have to worry about dealing with HMRC or any paperwork. You can simply watch the money you save come back to you.

Why do the government want to help you? They want you to Research and develop and as a business owner and you should too.

I will also link the website that has a fantastic live chat to answer any queries you may have. https://www.areande.com/.

A few minutes of your time may be the difference between you having thousands or having them taken off you.

Make the most of this fantastic scheme.

By Marcus Hardaker