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R&D tax relief has seen a lot of changes in recent years, but the challenge for accountants is now less about keeping track of new rules and more about understanding how those rules work in practice. The merged R&D scheme, ERIS, claim notification requirements, the Additional Information Form and HMRC’s increasingly structured approach to compliance have changed both the mechanics of making a claim and the risks surrounding it. This session will look at trends in real current claims and enquiries, highlight where businesses and advisers are most likely to encounter difficulties and will discuss opportunities that are often missed as firms become more cautious about R&D. You will leave with a clearer understanding of where the R&D regime is heading and how to help clients make robust claims without overlooking genuine qualifying activity.

We'll look at the trends and implications in HMRC's recent R&D statistics and also at the (relatively) new specific-issue assurance that HMRC now offers.

In this session Simon Briton will cover the following topics:

By attending this session, you will:

• understand the most important current developments affecting UK R&D tax relief;
• be better able to identify the practical consequences of the merged scheme and ERIS;
• recognise common problems with claim notification, the Additional Information Form and the wider claims process;
• understand the issues currently attracting HMRC scrutiny and the evidence that can help support a robust claim;
• be better equipped to identify genuine R&D opportunities while distinguishing them from activities that are unlikely to qualify; and
• be able to have better informed conversations with clients about R&D eligibility, risk and the information they should retain.

This session will be of most interest to:

• accountants and tax advisers acting for innovative companies;
• corporate tax specialists and general practice tax advisers;
• partners and managers responsible for advising SME and owner-managed business clients;
• finance directors and financial controllers in businesses undertaking innovative or technically challenging work; and
• advisers who do not specialise in R&D tax relief but need to recognise when a client might have a claim, when specialist input may be required and where the principal risks sit.

Course level: Intermediate

The session assumes a basic understanding of what R&D tax relief is and is therefore not intended as a foundation-level introduction. However, it does not require delegates to be R&D specialists. Technical points will be explained in the context of practical examples so that the session will be suitable for accountants and tax advisers who encounter R&D claims as part of their wider work.