Am I eligible to make an R&D tax claim?
We’ve highlighted a few examples below, indicating some of the projects that would be considered for an R&D Tax Claim. If you're still not sure your company is eligible to make an R&D claim, don't hesitate to get in touch.
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Scaling up of production processes. Often lab-based systems do not scale up to operational capacity without further technical achievements being obtained.
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Adaption to include new or alternative materials. This may be driven by legislation, environmental aims or operational efficiency.
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Integration of new technology with old systems.
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Time spent refining recipe formulation,
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Experimentation with equipment,
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Managing environmental factors such as temperature and humidity,
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The cost of consumables like the ingredients that are tested, heat, water and power,
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Applicable staffing costs, including plant labour for R&D trials
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Property developers researching eco-housing designs and materials
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Property developers researching affordable housing designs
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The conversion of properties from commercial to residential use
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Property developers working with listed buildings
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Property developers at the planning stage of ground-breaking or complex building designs
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Testing and re-testing computer systems designed to enable driverless cars
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Creating low waste coolants to use in refrigerated trucks
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Using big data to create software to scan for competitive flight prices
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Experimenting with different materials and patterns to create packaging which is fit for purpose and reduces waste
Apps
R&D tax credits offer an incredibly valuable source of capital to app developers. Every app regardless of purpose will have R&D spend and can therefore claim.
A prime example is a gaming app that approached Claim Capital. The founders didn’t believe they would be eligible, however, Claim Capital quickly identified over £50,000 of R&D expenditure and successfully claimed £17,000.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Manufacturing
The manufacturing process presents many challenges from design to the final prototype. Challenges may arise from needing to use new or updated materials or adapting a process to enhance health and safety.
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Development of processing and handling techniques.
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The design, testing and trialing of prototypes and demonstration plant.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Clothing and Textiles
You’re focused on advancing textiles technology, developing high performance technical fabrics, improved formulations for finishing processes including laminating, coating and dyeing, and investigating the variable physical and chemical behaviours of each fibre. Through these developments, you produce high-tech fibres, yarns and fabrics that display a range of useful new properties and play a strong role in pushing the boundaries of several industries.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Bio-Medical
Biotechnology companies are no strangers to R&D, they understand the need to take risks, experiment and innovate to avoid stagnation in a competitive and rapidly moving industry. Given this, many biotech companies and CROs are seeking ways to increase the productivity and capability of their products and services in order to keep up with the latest developments in academic research.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Electronics
Research and development is a key area for electronics companies. With projects typically requiring large amounts of development capital, R&D credits are crucial for funding future projects.
You’re striving to create new electronic devices that perform better than anything else. You develop hardware, firmware and software for driving, control and processing, pushing component systems to work in sequence, through tackling power, bandwidth, noise or timing problems.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Food Tech
Research and development is a key area for electronics companies. With projects typically requiring large amounts of development capital, R&D credits are crucial for funding future projects.
You’re striving to create new electronic devices that perform better than anything else. You develop hardware, firmware and software for driving, control and processing, pushing component systems to work in sequence, through tackling power, bandwidth, noise or timing problems.
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Construction
Construction companies can often overlook R&D tax incentives as there isn't an obvious technology advancement.
We have seen claims across the below eligible activities and projects:
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Property developers work on innovations e.g. renewable and affordable energy materials
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Development project technical issue problem-solving, e.g. restricted site access or minimising local disruption
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s
Transport
Whether you’re developing the next electric car, VTOL vehicle or drone, the development cost can be substantial. R&D tax credits will provide you with the capital to keep pushing your project to the next level.
Here are just a few of the qualifying activities:
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Innovating and experimenting with new materials for the manufacture of transport systems
The app recovered:
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Server costs
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CRM costs
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Hosting costs
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Developers wages
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Consulting fee’s