R&D Tax Relief Claims rise again

HMRC has today published its most recent R&D tax relief statistics and they continue to show a positive upward trend.

The stats are up to the 2013-14 tax year and include RDEC for the first time (the replacement to the Large company scheme).

Since the introduction of the relief in 2000, almost 120,000 companies have made claims and £11.4bn in tax relief has been claimed. 33,800 companies have claimed the SME relief and 7,800 have claimed under the Large scheme.

Turning specifically to the 2013-14 data, 20,100 claims were made, with a 23% increase in claims by SMEs. £1.75bn of tax support was obtained on qualifying costs of £14.3bn.

As expected, the sectors that dominate claims are "manufacturing", "professional, scientific and technical" and "IT and communications", which combined make up 81% of claims by value and 76% by number.

10,470 SME claims were to reduce tax and 2,810 claims were for cash-back (loss making companies). 660 SMEs claimed under the Large scheme as subcontractors.

In our geographical regions, the North East made 675 claims claiming £40m relief, the North West made 1,905 claims for £105m relief, Yorkshire & Humber made 1,315 claims claiming £55m relief and Scotland made 1,045 claims for £55m relief.

Although the upward trend is great news, there are undoubtedly many companies still failing to claim or maximise their claim.

We have been making claims since 2000 and have a strong reputation in doing so. Our dedicated website contains further information and testimonials.