R&D Tax Credits Claimed Correctly.

HMRC paid out over £7 billion in R&D tax relief in 2023 — but increased compliance scrutiny means poorly prepared claims are now routinely challenged. An ICAEW Chartered Accountant builds claims that stand up to HMRC enquiry and maximises the relief you are legitimately entitled to.

✓ Merged R&D scheme✓ Technical narrative✓ Cost analysis✓ HMRC defensible✓ CT600 integrated

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Discuss Your R&D Tax Credit Claim

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What Qualifies — and What We Prepare

R&D tax relief rewards businesses that advance science or technology by resolving genuine scientific or technological uncertainties. The key is knowing what qualifies and preparing a claim HMRC cannot reasonably challenge.

Qualifying R&D Activities

Software development overcoming technical uncertainty, new product or process development, bespoke engineering solutions, and novel pharmaceutical or biotech research. We assess your activities against HMRC’s DSIT guidelines.

Non-Qualifying Activities

Routine software maintenance, cosmetic product changes, market research, and activities where the technical answer is already known in the public domain. We identify the qualifying boundary clearly to protect your claim.

Technical Narrative

HMRC requires a written technical narrative explaining the scientific or technological uncertainty you sought to resolve. We work with your engineers and scientists to produce a document that is technically credible and legally defensible.

Qualifying Cost Analysis

Staff costs, subcontractors, consumables, software licences, and cloud computing costs can all qualify — but only under specific conditions. We analyse your costs, apply the correct apportionment, and ensure you claim every pound you are entitled to.

Merged Scheme Compliance

Since April 2024, HMRC’s merged R&D scheme has replaced both the SME scheme and RDEC for most claims. The merged scheme has different rates, different rules for contracted-out R&D, and new disclosure requirements. We ensure your claim is compliant.

HMRC Enquiry Defence

HMRC’s R&D compliance team opens enquiries on a significant proportion of claims. If your claim is selected for review, we manage the entire response — providing technical and financial evidence and representing your position directly with HMRC.

How We Prepare Your R&D Claim

Initial Eligibility Assessment

We assess your activities against HMRC’s DSIT guidelines to confirm which projects qualify and estimate the potential claim value. This initial assessment is free of charge and takes approximately 30 minutes of your time.

Information Gathering

We conduct structured interviews with your technical team to document the scientific or technological uncertainty, the baseline of existing knowledge, and the specific advances achieved. We also collect the financial data — payroll, contractor invoices, consumables, software costs.

Technical Narrative

We write the technical narrative in a format that HMRC’s compliance officers expect — specific, evidence-based, and clearly linked to the qualifying criteria. We do not use template language; every narrative is written for your specific projects.

Cost Analysis & Computation

We calculate your qualifying expenditure, apply the correct scheme rates, and prepare the tax computation. For the merged scheme, we also check whether the ERIS (enhanced rate for intensive R&D spenders) applies to your business.

CT600 Submission

The R&D claim is filed as part of your corporation tax return. We handle the CT600 submission and monitor HMRC’s processing timeline. For repayment claims, we track the repayment and follow up with HMRC if processing is delayed.

R&D Tax Credit Questions

From 1 April 2024, HMRC merged the previous SME R&D relief and the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) into a single merged scheme. The merged scheme applies to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. The headline credit rate is 20% of qualifying expenditure, with an above-the-line credit that reduces corporation tax. Loss-making companies receive a payable credit at a lower rate. A separate Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS) scheme remains available for loss-making companies where R&D expenditure exceeds 30% of total expenditure — primarily benefiting early-stage biotech and deep-tech businesses. We confirm which scheme and rate applies to your specific position.

Qualifying costs under the merged scheme include: employee costs (salary, NIC, pension contributions) for staff directly engaged in R&D; externally provided workers (EPWs) at 65% of the cost; consumable items used directly in R&D; software licences used in R&D activities; payments to clinical trial volunteers; and cloud computing costs directly attributable to R&D from April 2023. Subcontracted R&D costs qualify under the merged scheme only where the company bears the financial risk of the R&D — contracts where the customer is directing the work do not qualify.

You can amend a corporation tax return up to two years after the end of the accounting period. This means you can make or amend R&D claims for the current year and the immediately preceding year — but not for earlier periods (unless HMRC agrees to an out-of-time amendment in exceptional circumstances). If you have been performing qualifying R&D but have not previously claimed, we recommend acting promptly to preserve the two-year window for the most recent complete accounting period.

R&D credits you are entitled to — properly claimed.

ICAEW Chartered Accountants. Technical narrative included. HMRC-defensible. Book a free eligibility assessment today.

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