Having remained largely unchanged over the last two decades UK Research & Development (R&D) tax reliefs are evolving. Driven by a sustained year on year increase in the amount of relief being claimed and the country’s challenging financial ecosystem, the UK Government is actively looking at the effectiveness of R&D tax reliefs.

Following multiple consultations, several measures have been introduced in an attempt to;

• modernise the categories of qualifying expenditure,
• refocus funding towards R&D undertaken within the UK, and
• tackle abuse and improve compliance.

A consultation is also ongoing to understand how the two separate schemes could be combined.

A clear awareness of how these changes will affect R&D tax claims is key to understanding the steps that need to be taken to ensure that all claims are compliant and to correctly incorporate all the qualifying expenditure incurred.

Find out more about:

• How qualifying cost categories have changed to take account of modern R&D activities and to focus on innovation undertaken in the UK.
• What measures have been introduced to tackle abuse and improve compliance.
• How the rate changes will affect the amount of relief available for both SMEs and large companies.
• The Government’s consultation on the implementation of a single R&D scheme, to replace the separate SME and RDEC schemes.

This recording will set out the new rules and requirements and highlight some of the key advantages and practical issues facing businesses.

You will have a clear awareness of how these changes will affect R&D tax claims, and understand the steps that need to be taken to ensure that claims are compliant and incorporate all qualifying expenditure.  You will  hear about the implications of the current consultation to unify the two separate reliefs and we will provide insight into the potential future direction of R&D tax reliefs in the UK.