What is SME R&D tax relief?

This Government scheme, which is administered by HMRC, is designed to boost innovation by supporting SMEs who seek to improve or overcome challenges or uncertainties in their products and processes.

What does this mean for your business?

You will generally qualify for the SME R&D tax relief scheme if:

You employ less than 500 staff
You have a turnover of under 100 million euros or a balance sheet total under 86 million euros

You may need to include any linked companies and partnerships when you work out if you’re an SME.

There are also other criteria but even if you do not qualify for the SME scheme, you could be eligible for an R&D claim under the RDEC scheme.

The team at Benson Wood & Co. can advise which scheme applies to your business.

How do you demonstrate R&D activity?

Many business owners are surprised how broad the definition of R&D is.

Ask yourself?

Does my business design and make new products?
Do we seek to improve processes, services, materials or devices?
Do we make prototypes or perform testing?
Do we develop software or IT solutions?
Has my business invested in a failed project or developed products that have never launched?
Do we employ any staff with a technical or scientific background?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may qualify for R&D tax relief.

How can Benson Wood & Co help?

It takes an experienced eye to identify the full potential of your claim. We will provide support from an expert who knows about your industry and speaks you language.

We will get to know your business inside out so that we can identify how you develop and innovate your products and services.

We will then prepare the claim for you. Because we understand exactly what HMRC looks for, we can ensure that your claim is maximised and robust – which gives you the best chance of having your claim approved.

We manage your claim from start to finish – filling out the documentation, registering the claim, handling queries from HMRC and also dealing with the accounting.

Our team will work with you to make the claims process as seamless as possible – we do all the hard work and you reap the benefits.

Going the extra mile for our clients

We will help your business commercialise your innovation to make sure that the initiative is recognised and receives the full credit due.

Many companies that qualify for R&D tax relief may also have intellectual property that is patentable. We will identify if this is the case and advise on any further financial benefits that may be available to you through the Patent Box Scheme.