From 1 April 2019, R&D tax credit claims must be accompanied by a CT600 and full computation. A claim for R&D Relief up to 2 years after the end of the accounting period it relates to can be claimed by entering your organisation’s enhanced expenditure into the full CT600 form.

HMRC has implemented this change to improve the quality of R&D tax credit claims and reduce the quantity of errors. The issues that HMRC are seeking to mitigate in R&D tax credit claims include:

  • Inadequate detail in claims submitted to HMRC;
  • Information provided being deemed ‘incomplete’ leading to delays;
  • Specialist R&D agents not having the necessary authority from a company to amend the CT600.

HMRC has taken proactive steps to ensure their expectations of R&D tax credit claims are being met. These include:

  • The release of new guidance on software R&D;
  • A new PAYE / NIC cap for the SME payable credit;
  • A new online service for submitting R&D tax credit claims

What does this mean for you? 

With these new changes in place, it is essential to know exactly how to lodge your R&D tax credit claim with an appropriately completed CT600 and full computation to avoid HMRC enquiries, which can be time-consuming and tedious to resolve. Any company lodging a claim missing a correctly completed CT600 and corporate tax computation will be rejected, and be given 30 days to amend and re-submit their claim with properly completed documentation. If the statutory deadline passes, the opportunity to make a claim is lost. The HMRC will treat any late claim in accordance with the Statement of Practice SP05/01.

To receive guidance and advice, and avoid the risk of losing your opportunity to claim, please get in touch with our team and we can assist you on the best way to move forward with your R&D tax credit claim.