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Claiming R&D tax credits
Rewarding your investment in innovation
ForrestBrown is the leading provider of R&D tax advice in the UK, acting as a trusted adviser to many of the UK’s most innovative businesses. We deliver robust R&D tax credit claims to ensure your business is rewarded for your investment in innovation.
Our experts take on the heavy lifting of your claim preparation, saving your team time and ensuring you receive the valuable funding your business deserves.
Everything you need to know about R&D tax relief can be found here.
The government confirmed in the Autumn Statement 2023 that a merged R&D scheme will be introduced for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. Find out more.
How to claim R&D tax credits with ForrestBrown
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to accessing R&D tax advice. At ForrestBrown our team of experts adapt our tried-and-tested methodology to fit your business. Below are some of the stages you can expect as part of your engagement with ForrestBrown.
R&D tax claim process
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1
Discovery and assessment
Your dedicated point of contact and expert project team will kick off your claim and work with you to identify the information needed to create your claim.
Do you have the expertise you need? Our expert team is made up of chartered tax advisers, accountants, lawyers, sector specialists, technical writers and account managers, hand-picked to support your specific business needs.
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2
Information gathering and analysis
We combine tax technical firepower with in-depth sector knowledge to uncover the full extent of your qualifying R&D. Our chartered tax advisers and sector specialists will work directly with your finance and technical teams to gather all the information we need for your claim. We will then use this to create a bespoke methodology based on your records.
Are you currently spending too long preparing your R&D claim? Let our team do the heavy lifting and free up your team’s time.
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3
Creating your R&D tax credit claim
We will document your claim and the evidence required for HMRC, explaining how your activities and costs have been assessed, and your total R&D tax credit benefit determined. This ensures you can be confident that you have a robust claim.
How confident are you in the methodology and evidence behind your claim? Our QA team review all claim submissions and our proprietary technology platform tracks each stage of claim preparation providing a clear audit trail.
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4
Approvals and submission
We will share our reports with you for approval and will explain our findings. We will file your R&D tax credit claim for you via your Corporation Tax return (CT600) or work with your accountant to do so.
Do you understand what you’re claiming and why? Our team will explain their findings and communicate and manage any associated risks so you can be confident that you’re submitting a robust and defensible claim.
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5
Dealing with HMRC on your behalf
After we’ve submitted your claim via your Corporation Tax return (CT600) we’ll keep in touch with HMRC to ensure minimal hold-ups. In the unlikely event HMRC opens an enquiry, we will work to resolve this for you.
Do you need support to ensure your claim remains on track? With increased scrutiny into R&D claims it pays to work with an experienced specialist who has an existing relationship with HMRC and understands what they are looking for.
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Receiving your benefit and reinvesting
You are rewarded for your investment in innovation and your Corporation Tax bill will be reduced or your cash benefit is paid into your bank account. That’s money to spark your next big idea and fuel your continued growth – reinvesting in projects and people.
Are you thinking about future investment in R&D? Don’t treat your claim as a box-ticking exercise. With ForrestBrown’s support you can embed a culture of innovation and use R&D tax reliefs as part of a strategic plan for your future growth.
How much does it cost to claim R&D tax credits with ForrestBrown?
Depending on your specific requirements, our fee can be charged as a percentage of the benefit you receive, as a fixed amount or on a time and materials basis.
It can cover an end-to-end service or a bespoke service to suit your requirements. We’ll always be transparent with you about what assumptions we have built into our fee proposal.
Have you heard of Patent Box?
The UK Patent Box regime reducing the Corporation Tax rate on profits generated through patents to an effective rate of 10%. R&D and Patent Box are intrinsically linked and work together to reward innovative companies within the UK.
Assembling the best team for your business
We will assemble a team of experts with the right specialisms to suit your business and its needs. These include chartered tax advisers, chartered accountants, lawyers, sector specialists, technical writers, former HMRC inspectors, quality assurance experts and account managers.
Chartered tax advisers and accountants: to oversee your claim and analyse your costs.
Sector specialists: to identify project costs and the full extent of your R&D.
Quality assurance: from a dedicated team including former-HMRC inspectors.
Enquiry support: from lawyers and tax advisers to liaise with HMRC on your behalf.
Success stories
Robert Bird, Director, Stanton Williams Limited
We feel that we are in safe hands working with ForrestBrown and would highly recommend them. They are very attentive, rigorous and thorough, which is reflected in the work that they do
Period of rapid growth
Supported ORCA Computing to compete in global markets
ForrestBrown have the calibre of people to understand what we’re doing, which is no mean feat given that we’re building a quantum computer. Knowing that we can trust them to translate our complex projects to HMRC and deliver our claim on time is pretty important to us.
Richard Murray, Co-founder and CEO, ORCA Computing
Ric Hill, Co-founder, Ghyston
Having used Forrest Brown for our R&D claims for many years now, we find it much easier to understand and predict what our likely claim levels will be going forwards. This gives us a great advantage when it comes to business and cashflow planning, and allows us to invest in the future with confidence.
Tom Burnell-Nugent, COO, Doctify
ForrestBrown goes beyond the conventional tax consultancy approach, to be hands on, helpful and consultative, whilst also being aware of how time poor Doctify can be. With their efficient and seamless end-to-end handling of our R&D claims, they have proven to be a superb partner.
OpenBrix
World’s first property technology platform
ForrestBrown showed patience from the outset, making the effort to understand what we do and how we are structured. As a result of this time investment, subsequent claims have been progressively smoother as we now have systems in place to capture and document our R&D.
Shahad Choudhury, Chief Innovation Officer, OpenBrix
Finance Director, Pharmaceuticals group
ForrestBrown helped us to bridge the gap between finance and scientific matters and to put together successful RDEC and Patent Box claims with confidence in their completeness and compliance.
Changes to R&D tax relief from 1 April 2024
SME R&D tax relief and the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) will be merged for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, although an enhanced rate for R&D intensive SMEs will continue to be available.
The merged scheme moves to a single rate and set of qualifying rules with elements from the existing two schemes, including clarification of subcontracted out and subsidised R&D. Restrictions on overseas R&D also come into force from 1 April 2024.
ForrestBrown’s expert team is on hand to help businesses understand what these changes will mean and what they can do to prepare.
Our latest R&D insights
Speak to us
We’re passionate about helping our clients access the valuable funding they deserve for their innovation. Speak to our team to discuss your business today.
- Telephone
- 0117 926 9022
- hello@forrestbrown.co.uk