The details behind pre-notification for R&D claims

The UK Government has a longstanding history of advocating for business investment in Research & Development (R&D) projects, considering them pivotal to economic growth.

Consequently, R&D tax reliefs are lucrative, targeting both Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and larger organisations.

However, organisations must now inform HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of their intention to claim R&D tax relief or expenditure credit before initiating plans.

Reforms to R&D pre-notification claims were implemented by HMRC in April 2023 in an effort to curb misuse of the R&D tax relief scheme.

Who should inform HMRC?

Companies intending to claim R&D tax relief must now inform HMRC if they:

• Are making a claim for the first time.
• Have claimed for the previous tax year but did not submit that claim until after the final date of the claim notification period (the claim notification period concludes six months after the end of the accounting period)
• Have a claim that was initiated more than three years prior to the last date of the claim notification period

Notification deadlines

The cut-off for submitting claim notification forms is six months following the end of the accounting period that the claim is linked to.

Any submissions after this deadline will not be valid.

What information will you need to fill in the claim notification form?

The claim notification form demands meticulous scrutiny prior to submission, as any missing details could result in outright claim rejections.

All claim notification forms require the following details:

• The company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• The name of the senior R&D contact who is overseeing the claim
• Contact details of any agent involved
• The accounting period’s start and end date for which you’re claiming the tax relief
• The accounting period’s start and end date
• A synopsis of the high-level planned activities and evidence the project satisfies the standard definition of R&D

Following the online submission of a claim notification form, an email will be dispatched which will contain a reference number that should be retained to discuss the claim notification form with HMRC.

Submitting the claim notification form allows organisations to proceed with their claim. They will simply need to mark an ‘X’ in box 656 of the Company Tax Return to notify HMRC that the claim notification form has been submitted.

As of 1 August 2023, an additional information form must accompany all claims for R&D tax relief. This form will permit you to elaborate in detail about your project to demonstrate its R&D attributes.

This additional information form must be submitted, or else HMRC will be unable to process your claim.

For further details about the R&D relief modifications and what to include on your notification forms, please get in touch with us for expert advice.