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All companies that are working gin the research and development sectors undergo a huge risk. The risk is in terms of capital expenditure and also in terms of the end results. But such research activities are very much essential for an economically stable country. Hence the government of UK has come up with some schemes to help such companies which are working in the research fields. One such scheme is the Research and Development Tax Relief scheme.
Here are some facts about the R&D tax scheme which will blow your mind.
1. Medical research/manufacturing advancements can be claimed: It is a general understanding that only companies that are working in software development are eligible for this claim. But, wrong! Technological development in any field can be claimed with the help of this R&D tax relief scheme. This means that, if your research is in the area of medicine or manufacturing advancements, you can still go ahead and claim your R&D tax credit incentive from the government. There are companies which are working on gaming, architectural advancement and medicinal field who have successfully claimed the R&D Tax Relief.
2. It is easy to claim the R&D Tax Relief: It is a misconception that claiming the R&D tax relief is a tedious process. Most companies refrain from claiming it because of the time and resources that it consumes to do the process. On the contrary, it is actually very easy to claim the monetary benefit. All you need to do is to fill in the form along with the CT (Corporate Taxes). You need to provide a technical write-up to the government. This technical write up should contain the problem that you research activity is addressing. It should mention the persons involved in the activity and the overall expenditure incurred. You will also be surprised to know that there are many agencies which can assist you with the entire claim process if you find this difficult and time consuming.
3. SMEs are also eligible for this claim: Generally large companies have dedicated resources that take care of the expenditure and the claim part of the business. But for SMEs and start-ups this process might seem daunting. You should be aware that SMEs and start-ups can also avail from the scheme. In fact, starting from April 2015, the SMEs can claim up to 230% of the total research expenditure with the help of this scheme. This is mainly to encourage small companies to take up the research activities.
4. You can run your business more efficiently: The amount of R&D tax loan that you can get from the government can be used only for research purposes. This means that with the help of the amount that you avail; you can run your research activities more efficiently. You get an advantage to add more dedicated resources to work on the research activities. You will also be able to provide a stringent time line for the activities to take shape and yield desired results.
5. It is a lot of money: The amount of money that you can get as a refund from the scheme is quite substantial. This means that the amount of resource and time that you spend on making this claim will make is worth your effort. You should remember that even if you take professional help during the claim process, the amount that you get at the end of the whole process through the government scheme will suffice your total capital expenditure. Hence claiming for the R&D tax relief is really worth the time and effort.
