Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits

R&D tax credits are a tax incentive from the UK government to encourage companies to undertake innovative development in science and technology. To claim it, your company must seek to develop an advance in its field by overcoming specific technical challenges. Our clients have made over 100 claims for R&D tax credits. Those with £100,000 qualifying expenditure can expect anything between £15,000 to £26,970 in benefit depending on the scheme available.

R&D tax credit benefits

Barnes & Scott works with innovative technology companies. Many of our clients already qualify for R&D tax credits. We regularly assess all our clients to check that they are claiming the maximum possible for R&D. 

Our specialist R&D team will work closely with our accounts team to pore over your financials and pull out all relevant information to maximise your claim. One of the benefits of working with Barnes & Scott is that we manage your bookkeeping and accounts, as well as your R&D claim. That means we have a detailed insight into your financial data, which is key to putting in a strong claim and ensuring nothing gets missed.

There are two types of R&D relief – the SME scheme and the RDEC (Research and Development Expenditure Credit) scheme for large companies. The SME scheme is the most common, and most generous, typically resulting in a 19% cash rebate of the amount spent on R&D. 

The RDEC scheme must be used if the development work has been funded by a grant, such as from Innovate UK, a government agency that invests in science and research in the UK. The RDEC scheme is less generous, typically resulting in a rebate of just under 10%

Barnes & Scott is an expert in both types of R&D and has helped many companies successfully navigate the rules of both schemes. 

Claim for your development spend

The number of claims for R&D tax credits made by small companies has risen sharply in the past few years, especially from London based companies who claimed for 31% of all R&D tax credits in 2020-21

To get the tax relief, your business must demonstrate to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that your R&D project did two things: one, it tried to make a technical advance in your field (not just an improvement for your business); two, the project faced “uncertainty” which had to be overcome (for example, the project may have failed initially but eventually succeeded by solving certain technical challenges).

Submitting an R&D tax credit claim can be complicated and time consuming if you try to submit it yourself.

Let us do the hard work. We’ll analyse every part of your business to establish if you’re eligible. Then we’ll work out the maximum amount you are eligible for. We’ll write the claim, include it as part of your corporation tax return and deal with any red tape and queries from HMRC.

A happy client using our R&D Strategy Services

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"Hands down the best accounting firm that I have every worked with in London. My company would not exist today without them. These guys really go above and beyond and they keep getting better over time. Smart, Efficient and Reliable."
Thierry Sequeira, director of Massive Rocket
"We have been conducting business in 3 different countries and have experience with many different accountants. Working with Barnes & Scott was a dream come true! In addition to a really zen accounting experience they were actually proactively helping us generate additional funding for our business."
Zuzanna Kosowska-Stamirowska, Director
"I have been with Barnes & Scott since the beginning of becoming limited. They are a great team; who make the time to talk through the process of taxation and how I can grow and maintain my business. A very personal team of prompt, professional advisers for every facet of my business, with a wide range of knowledge. A very safe pair of hands for tax and business growth."
Sam Hofman
"I call Tas the CFO in my pocket. Barnes Scott has been super-helpful, and I have a lot of trust in his team. I love how the firm is very tech literate and automates as many finance tasks as possible."
Tara Louise Reddy
"Perhaps the most useful specialist support Barnes & Scott has given us is in managing a claim for R&D tax credits. Our company spends a lot of time and money on innovative research. The amount that can be claimed back is significant but claiming the credits can be time consuming and complicated. Barnes & Scott made it easy. They have also helped us with EMI share options, project managing the process from start to finish."
Adam Rainsford, Financial Director
"Barnes & Scott took all the stress and aggravation away when they set up our accounting systems. Their service is thorough and very reassuring. I would highly recommend their services."
Sarah Rowley, COO, VOTAL
"Tas and his team have helped us navigate setting up a new business and taken the fear that we would somehow get everything wrong out of it! We have been able to focus on the things we are expert in, knowing our finances and accounts are in safe hands. Highly recommended."
Ruth Barnes, Director
"I’m a paperworkaphobe. Trying to run a business obviously means there’s ton, especially when it comes to taxes. Tasnim and his team helped us set up on HMRC, Xero, and Receipt Bank, making everything from submitting our daily receipts to end of year taxes insanely easy. Oh, and they even helped us get £40,000 back from the government in “R&D” rebate, something I didn’t even know existed. We’ve now saved time and earned more than we spent on accounting. I call that worth it."
Nick Broad, Director
"We used to handle our book-keeping in-house and it became unmanageable. A friend recommended Barnes & Scott and we engaged with them to take over our accounts and book-keeping. The transition was completely seamless. Tas took the time to understand what we were doing and how they could take over with minimal disruption and finding optimisations along the way. We now save a couple of days of work each month and have complete peace of mind knowing that our accounts are all filed correctly. Whenever we need some specialist advice it’s easy to pick up the phone. I would thoroughly recommend Barnes & Scott as a great value, reliable and efficient solution to your accounting needs."
Jonny White, Director
"Barnes & Scott have helped Vivacity grow from a company of 5 people to 50 during their involvement over the past five years. By professionally handling our annual return, VAT returns and R&D tax credit reclaims, it has freed up valuable management time in the company to allow us to focus on the core business."
Peter Mildon, CEO

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