Myth 1 – "I don't have time"

One of the barriers stopping many businesses from finding out more about how to claim R&D tax credits is the misconception that it will be a drain on their time and they are simply too busy.

The reality is, once you have the information you need to put your claim together, it takes just a day – or less – and the rewards can be huge.

Get £54,000 through R&D tax credits?

The current average claim value for SMEs that do commit the time to claim tax credits is £54,000, which is quite a good return for a day’s work. You could use this relief from the Government to reduce your corporation tax bill or re-invest it in new R&D projects to improve your productivity in 2020.

Irrespective of whether your project succeeds or fails; or your business is profit or loss making the scheme is designed so that you could get back up to 33p for every £1 spent on research and development.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, read our second myth busting blog on how you can unlock investment with R&D tax credits to find out how easy it is.

When is the right time to claim?

The right time to put in your claim is at the end of the financial year in which your R&D project has been completed. You can also claim retrospectively for the past two years so, the first time you claim, you can expect to receive a great return.

We have generated over £210m for our clients through the tax credit scheme and we know that using an expert can make the process easier and more efficient as well as ensure that you maximise your claim value.

Our simple R&D claim process:

With no forms to fill in; the process includes:

1. A half hour planning call with a member of the MPA Client Engagement team to identify, quantify and qualify your R&D activity. Our team has expertise in across all industries and sectors so can quickly identify the likely level of claim.
2. A 2-4-hour face-to-face meeting with one of our technical analysts who will identify the details of your projects, the time you’ve taken and their success. Don’t worry if this information hasn’t been recorded, your analyst will put together a fair apportionment based on experience.
3. Our analyst will produce a report, benchmarking your activity against your industry sector and type of customer and put costings together.
4. The technical report from the analyst then goes to our quality assurance team where everything is checked and critiqued against your supporting information.
5. After this, our tax team will work out the best type of claim for you taking into consideration your current and future business position.
6. Finally, you will receive the report by email to check whether the figures look reflective of the work involved and to approve. Once approved we will submit your claim to HMRC. It usually takes the HMRC 28 working days to process a claim or make an investigation.

We are confident with the quality of our reporting so provide enquiry defence as a standard part of our service.

We know that the thought of dealing with HMRC and filling out documents can be daunting, but the rewards are substantial. Our clients have used this funding to push their businesses further, speak to one of our advisors for a free business consultation.