Check if you can claim Research & Development (R&D) tax relief
Find out what R&D tax relief is and if your project qualifies for Corporation Tax relief.
What R&D tax relief is
Research and Development (R&D) tax relief supports companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology. To qualify for R&D relief, a project must seek an advance in a field of science or technology.
Only companies chargeable to UK Corporation Tax can qualify for this relief.
What is a field of science or technology
Science is the systematic study of the nature and behaviour of the physical and material universe.
From 1 April 2023 mathematical advances can be treated as science for these purposes, whether or not they are advances in representing the nature and behaviour of the physical and material universe.
Technology is the practical application of scientific principles or knowledge.
An advance in knowledge or capability in science or technology may either:
- have physical consequences
- be an increase in overall knowledge
An advance in knowledge or capability in science or technology may have physical consequences or may be an increase in overall knowledge. In either case, a competent professional working in that field would recognise the advance as an appreciable improvement.
Appreciable improvement means to change or adapt the scientific or technological characteristics of something to the point where it is ‘better’ than the original.
The improvements may include:
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creating a process, material, device, product or service that increases overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology
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appreciably improving an existing process, material, device, product or service, for example to save costs or reduce waste (this refers to genuine non-trivial improvements which result in more than a minor or routine upgrade)
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using science or technology to copy the effect of a current process, material, device, product or service in a new or improved way
Advances in the field
Your project must aim to create an advance in the overall field, not just for your business.
The process, product or service can still be an advance if it’s been developed by another company but is not publicly known or available.
You cannot claim if the advance sought is in:
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the arts
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humanities
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social sciences, including economics
What projects qualify for the relief
To qualify for R&D relief, your project must seek an advance in a field of science or technology by resolving scientific or technological uncertainty.
A scientific or technological uncertainty
A scientific or technological uncertainty exists when an expert on the subject cannot say if something is technologically possible, or how it can be done, even after referring to all the available evidence.
This means that your company or experts in the field cannot already know about the advance or the way to solve it.
Explaining how you tried to overcome the scientific or technological uncertainty
You need to be able to explain the work you did to overcome the uncertainty. This can be a simple description of the successes and failures you had during the project. Show that a professional in the field could not work this out. You should explain why a professional could not easily work out your advance. You can do this by showing that other attempts to find a solution had failed.
You can also show that the people working on your project are professionals in that field and get them to explain the scientific or technological uncertainties involved.
If you’re not sure whether your project qualifies for R&D tax relief, check:
- if it includes activities that qualify as R&D for tax purposes
- the definition of R&D in the Corporate Intangibles Research and Development Manual
- the guidelines on the meaning of R&D for tax purposes
What you need to do next
After you’ve checked what R&D is and that your project qualifies, check what R&D costs you can claim.