R&D tax credits, totally brilliant but not a walk in the park

Overview

As civil engineers, we all know active change and re-design can be needed at any stage. adapting to meet the technical challenges in our schemes from conception to decommission. Much of this could qualify within the HMRC’s definition of ‘R&D’, and tax credits could be rightly claimed as such.

R&D Tax Credits are under-used across UK civils and related sectors. They make up a large proportion of UKplc – but less than 10% of the HMRC’s total R&D Tax credits come from companies within it. The opportunity to claim R&D tax credits in our sector is there and should be more widely considered.

There are caveats – Terry and Simon will outline the path towards the correct choice of R&D tax expert to assist

The last part of the title is borrowed from an accountancy publication – and to set the tone of their presentation borrowed another quote from ‘Accountancy Daily’, from January 2020 and quoting Eyad Hamouieh, BDO Tax Director, referring to R&D Tax Relief/Credits:

“The firm also claims that one problem has been the growth in unregulated tax boutiques offering advice to businesses on how to maximise their tax rebates. This may be leading to companies misusing the system.” Hamouieh said: ‘Opaque regulations and unscrupulous advice may be reducing the appeal and damaging the reputation of otherwise highly-credible tax reliefs.’"

This article had started by mentioning that HMRC were seeking the return of more than £600 million from overclaimed R&D Tax Credits! It is likely that the UK government will have paid out in excess of £5 Billion in R&D Tax Credits or relief in the last year where statistics are available. The choice of an R&D Tax expert needs careful consideration and is therefore crucial.