What HMRC wishes all businesses understood.

First, HMRC expects claimants to have read and understood the official R&D tax relief guidelines.

These guidelines are designed to help businesses make a clear and informed assessment of whether their projects genuinely qualify. They explain the relationship between qualifying activity and the specific costs that can be included within a claim.

This means businesses should be able to:

• Explain why each project meets the qualifying criteria
• Identify the scientific or technological advance being sought
• Demonstrate the uncertainties that had to be overcome
• Link qualifying expenditure directly to the relevant R&D activity
• Distinguish eligible costs from ordinary business expenditure

HMRC does not expect businesses to simply include standard operating costs or submit speculative amounts. A claim should be supported by a clear technical rationale and an accurate breakdown of the qualifying expenditure.

Reading the guidance and applying it carefully makes it much easier to prepare a robust, compliant claim and reduces the risk of including costs that do not qualify.

For help connecting your project evidence and qualifying costs, explore our R&D tax relief claim service.