Research and Development Tax Credit

Receive cash back for your company

A huge proportion of companies that could make successful R&D Relief claims are failing to do so because they are either unaware of this fantastic opportunity or have been wrongly advised that they do not qualify.

Your company will be eligible for a R&D Claim if it’s taking a risk by improving or developing a process, product or service.

Whether you have developed new software, improved a system’s efficiency or designed a product, this specialised, complex area of tax law can be “the gamechanger” that allows your company to fund future growth.

A typical HMRC R&D Tax Credits claim for a small company is £70,000, whilst claims for larger companies can be in the millions.

What is a research and development (R&D) tax credit?

R&D is a corporation tax relief that may reduce your company’s tax bill, or even provide a cash rebate to enhance further development. This tax relief can only be claimed if your company is liable for UK Corporation Tax.

The way you claim tax relief depends on the size of your company. There’s the Small or Medium-sized Enterprise scheme and the (less generous) Large Company scheme.

Your company can only claim for R&D tax relief if an R&D project seeks to achieve “an advance in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology through the resolution of scientific or technological uncertainty”, and not simply an advance in its own state of knowledge or capability.

As you might expect, this explanation can raise more questions than it answers, which is why many companies choose to employ the services of an expert, experienced in making many similar claims, to assist them.

The project must relate to your company’s trade. This can be either an existing one, or one that you intend to start up based on the results of the R&D you have undertaken.

If your company is claiming tax relief under the small company scheme it must own any intellectual property that might arise from the project in order to claim HMRC R&D Tax Credits.

What Our Clients Say

Metric have worked with me to help me grow the company to where we are now. They are professional and available to help whenever required. They are also very knowledgeable about the market and have helped me with raising money as well as other corporate matters. As a result, they helped take the Company from turning over £25k a month, to almost a million per month. Helping me raise money which has definitely aided the business growth and which has been greatly appreciated

Michal Szlas, CEO

How to make a successful claim

If your company is (or has) faced:

Uncertainty due to the complexity of the product, software or system being designed and built.

Assembled a number of components (or software sub-programs) in a novel way or non-standard pattern.

Worked on combining standard technologies, devices and/or processes in a novel way, even if the principles for their integration are well known.

Then there is likely to be (what HMRC term) “scientific or technological uncertainty” and the company is most likely eligible to claim R&D Tax Relief.

Based on our experience, many entrepreneurs start scratching their heads when considering whether their work falls within this definition, so that’s why we always ask companies to ask us for our opinion as we have experience of making similar claims.

What does it cost and what’s involved?

We provide a complete R&D Tax Credits service, which includes completion of all of the steps set out below, for either a fixed fee or, if you prefer, a percentage of the tax rebate which is only payable in the event that a successful claim is made.

With Metric you’ll be best placed to make a successful R&D claim because we have a well-established track record of helping Innovative companies, so you’ll receive expertise and advice that’s 100% relevant to your business.

Meeting: We will kick off the process with a meeting to discuss your potential R&D work and establish if the work is eligible for the R&D tax credit scheme. At this meeting, we will layout the steps involved and the time plan for our work.

R&D Claim Description: Metric will provide you with Metric’s R&D template. The aim of this document is to provide HMRC with a detailed description of your claim. We normally let you complete most of this document as you have the know-how of your project. Metric will then review the document thoroughly and provide feedback.

R&D Calculation: We will discuss expenses that are eligible for R&D and to what extent these expenses can be claimed for. We will also review the financial information and prepare the calculation to maximise any claim. We understand the importance of getting the numbers right and have a good understanding of your financial accounts.

Finalisation: Before the submission, we will check that it’s a clear link between the R&D calculation, the descriptive R&D document, and the financial statement. Metric will prepare a final review before submission to ensure this is achieved.

Liaise with HMRC: Metric will liaise directly with HMRC in case of further questions concerning the claim. Metric’s commitment doesn’t stop when we have received the R&D claim but will support in case of questions at a later stage from HMRC.

What could your company receive as a cash payout?

Where a company makes a net loss for corporation tax purposes, the amount of the loss can be cashed in (or “surrendered”) to HMRC in return for a cash credit, which can be worth as much as 33.4p for each £1 of R&D expenditure.

This is the best option for cash-strapped companies and start-ups.

Alternatively, carry this loss forward to offset against future profits and the tax saving could be worth 46p for each £1 of R&D expenditure.

What makes us different

With Metric you’ll be best placed to make a successful R&D claim because we have a well-established track record of helping Innovative companies, so you’ll receive expertise and advice that’s 100% relevant to your business.

We’ll talk to you to understand your business and the potential for making a successful claim. We will discuss how we would work with you, what will be involved and our fees for making a successful claim.

If you decide to proceed, one of our qualified Accounting Directors will review your business and relevant financial records in detail to identify R&D Tax Credit opportunities.

We’ll then produce an HMRC-compliant technical analysis, complete the necessary tax schedules and deal with any HMRC queries. If a tax rebate is due, you should receive this from HMRC approximately 60 days after the claim has been submitted.

Our knowledge and experience means we are uniquely placed to identify and maximise your company’s full entitlement under the R&D Tax Credit scheme.

We’ll also share our experience with you to help you establish systems to capture all costs associated with future R&D qualifying projects. This advice is provided free of charge and can be used in your company today to maximize further claims in the coming years.

If you want to find out more why not give us a call and book your free, no-obligation consultation today?

We are Tech specialists

We only work with ambitious, technology companies and scalable businesses. This means that we are perfectly placed to help with your R&D Tax Credit application process, and beyond.

We are chartered accountants

What’s more, as we are a chartered accountancy firm, you can have faith that we not only have knowledge and experience of your ever-changing business sector but financial acumen as well.

We charge fixed fees

We also operate on a fair, transparent, fixed fee basis, which avoids problems later on.

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Great firm. With been with them for over 3 years now, since the day we created the Company. Throughout they’ve been amazing.

Ed Challis, Reinfer Ltd

I approached Metric to help us set up our first business. As a start-up it’s difficult to know what to do, where to go and who to trust. Years later, we are still using Metric and class them as an integral part of our business. They are a trusted adviser and I would highly recommend their services.

Gavin Shay , Equipsme Group

Metric Accountants has been supporting the Company for the past few years. The team is very competent and understands the requirements of a tech business well. They will take all the SEIS/EIS/VAT/R&D/accounts issues off your mind so that you can focus on running your own business. They are also just lovely people to work with. I could not recommend more.

Bartosz Jaskula, Mergerlinks Ltd

Excellent, helpful, friendly and professional with competitive fees. Would highly recommend!

Neil Terry, Vidsy Media Group

Metric are fabulous business partners. They are a true extension of the team. Beyond a great service, they are true advisors.

Katie Vanneck-Smith, Tortoise Media Ltd

Metric Accountants have supported us from the founding of our company, helping us through several years of growth. They’re always available at the end of the phone and represent really excellent value for money. Choosing Metric was one of the best decisions I made!

Kat Bruce, Nature Metrics Ltd