R&D Claims – Case Study
The R&D Claims Company Ltd brings together Technical Authors and experienced Accountants in order to maximise their clients R&D claims, all within the framework set out by the Government/HMRC.
The following case study epitomises the benefit of working with experts in this sector:
In a recent case our Client didn’t consider that he (and a work colleague) had spent that much time conducting R&D activity, and considered they could claim for approx. 20-30% of their costs on 2 projects.
During the on-site visit, the team uncovered that the two had spent between 50% and 85% of their time on 5 projects (2 aborted ones) relating to R&D activities, resulting in the claim being substantially more than the business owner had expected. We confirmed that a substantial amount of the R&D claim was made up of staff/sub-contractor costs, including NI and Pension costs included in the labour element.
We also highlighted that FAILURE is GOOD in relation to a project as it ticks the ‘technical uncertainty’ part of the HMRC claim justification. Most companies take 2 or 3 attempts to create or improve a product or process. The costs associated with not achieving your goal first time can be claimed, therefore this can soften the financial blow of failure.
All 5 projects were claimed for resulting in £54,250 being received by the Business Owner in R&D tax credits.
Be aware of the Do-It-Yourself Trap. Getting a claim wrong can have severe consequences, especially if there have a been a number of yearly claims based on the same methodology.