Sector expertise
R&D Tax Credits for Construction Companies in Ireland
Construction businesses often solve technical problems through materials, methods, site constraints, building systems and delivery processes. If your team is developing a new approach to buildability, performance, safety, sustainability or digital site delivery, the work may qualify for R&D Tax Credit support.
Sector innovation
Innovation in construction
The sector includes contractors, specialist subcontractors, engineering-led construction firms, building product developers, offsite manufacturers, survey technology providers and businesses improving building performance. Many projects involve uncertainty in materials, methods, site conditions, tolerances, durability, safety or scale-up.
This can include work across:
- New construction methods and buildability solutions
- Materials, structural systems and offsite construction methods
- Building systems integration and coordination
- Low-carbon materials and construction methods
- Site monitoring, sensors and control systems
- Waste reduction, programme efficiency and resource reduction
- Prototype design, testing and technical validation
- Field trials, prototype installations and scale-up
- Safety, reliability and performance improvement
- Data platforms, forecasting and optimisation tools
- Innovation grants and R&D Capital Allowances readiness
For R&D Tax Credit purposes, the key question is not whether the project supports sustainability. It is whether competent professionals faced scientific or technological uncertainty and carried out systematic work to resolve it. Get on a call with a member of our team to gain clarity on how your project qualifies.
A note from Kirsten
For construction R&D claims, evidence and clarity matter.
Construction claims can be complex because routine delivery, commercial constraints and genuine R&D often sit close together. Our role is to help explain the uncertainty, separate qualifying activity from standard project work, and connect technical evidence to the claim.
Kirsten Winsryg
Irish Lead, InnoFund
- 20+ years in corporate accountancy, grant and audit management.
- Specialist support for Irish R&D Tax Credit claims.
- Technical, financial and Revenue-side compliance support for innovation funding claims.
Client experience
Construction Companies Recommend InnoFund
Practical support from a multidisciplinary team that understands both the technical work and the claim.
Clear boundaries
Not every construction project qualifies for R&D Tax Credits.
Routine installation, standard deployment and normal operational improvement will usually fall outside the scope of R&D.
Examples of work that may not qualify include:
- Standard installation of proven equipment
- Routine maintenance, monitoring or operational support
- Commercial roll-out with no technical uncertainty
- Simple adoption of off-the-shelf software or hardware
- Standard building audits or feasibility studies alone
- Known efficiency projects based on existing best practice
- Compliance, planning or contractual paperwork without technical development
Not every project meets the criteria for R&D Tax Credits. Find out where your project stands.
Eligible expenditure
Eligible R&D costs for construction businesses
Construction businesses may be able to include a range of qualifying costs where they relate directly to eligible R&D activity, including:
- Employee costs for engineers, developers, scientists, technicians and technical leads
- Employer PRSI, pension contributions and other relevant employment costs
- Subcontracted R&D, subject to the relevant rules and limits
- Prototype equipment, components, test rigs, trial materials and consumables
- Software, data, sensors and control systems used directly in qualifying R&D
- Relevant overheads and apportionments where properly evidenced
The correct treatment of trials, prototypes, subcontractors, grants, staff apportionment and capital expenditure is especially important for construction claims. InnoFund reviews the technical and financial position together so the claim is accurate and defensible.
Evidence & scrutiny
Revenue risk areas for construction R&D claims
Revenue may ask a company to explain what scientific or technological advancement was sought, what uncertainty existed and what evidence supports the claim. Construction claims should be more than a list of project benefits, installations or commercial outcomes.
Common risk areas include:
- Claims focused on environmental benefit rather than scientific or technological uncertainty
- Weak explanation of the baseline technology or system design
- Poor separation between routine deployment and qualifying R&D
- Insufficient records of tests, failures, iterations or decision points
- Over-claiming standard installation, commissioning or monitoring activity
- Unclear treatment of subcontractors, grants, trials, equipment or consumables
Connect directly with our specialists who review and assess prospective innovative projects.
Your next step
Do not guess. Know whether your construction work qualifies.
Have a construction project you want to discuss. InnoFund helps separate routine delivery from genuine R&D so claims are accurate, compliant and properly evidenced.
- 30 minutes
- Expert guidance
- Commitment free