R&D Tax Relief Blog

AI in Architecture: What Actually Qualifies for R&D Tax Relief?

Architectural practices are adopting AI tools quickly. Tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly and specialist platforms like Maket.ai are being used to generate massing studies, material options and elevation permutations at a pace that was impossible two years ago.

The Elephant in the R&D Room: What AI Does to Technological Uncertainty

AI now rivals or exceeds a competent professional in many fields. That reality collides head‑on with the UK’s statutory test for R&D tax relief, which hinges on whether knowledge was “readily available or deducible.” Here’s why 2026 projects face a radically different baseline — and what companies need to do about it.

R&D Tax Credits for Software Companies: What Actually Qualifies in 2025

How HMRC assesses UK software R&D tax credit claims in 2025: what counts as technological uncertainty, which software activities typically qualify, common pitfalls, and how to strengthen your claim under the merged RDEC scheme.

5 Common R&D Tax Credit Mistakes That Trigger HMRC Enquiries

HMRC is now checking one in five R&D tax credit claims, with a 16.7% error rate and a quarter of examined claims fully disallowed. Learn the five most common mistakes that trigger enquiries and how to avoid them.

The Merged R&D Scheme Explained: What Every UK Business Needs to Know in 2026

From April 2024, the UK’s SME and RDEC schemes have been replaced by a single merged R&D expenditure credit. Learn how the 20% credit works, who can claim, the ERIS exception for R&D‑intensive SMEs, and the new restrictions on overseas and subcontracted R&D costs.

Subcontracting Under the Merged R&D Scheme: What Changed and What You Need to Know

11 February 2026

The merged R&D scheme from 1 April 2024 radically changes how subcontractor costs are treated. Relief now follows the decision-maker, with tighter rules on contracted-out R&D, overseas work, and connected parties. Learn what qualifies, who can claim, and how to protect your position.

R&D Tax Relief for Subcontracted Work: HMRC’s Revised Interpretation Under Fire

5 December 2024

HMRC’s approach to contracted-out R&D has tightened significantly under the merged scheme. The rules on who can claim—customer or contractor—are now far more prescriptive, and misallocating the claimant can be costly and difficult to unwind.

Navigating a Tougher R&D Tax Credits Environment – And What You Can Do To Protect Your Claims

4 November 2024

For over two decades, the R&D tax credits scheme has been a cornerstone of the UK's strategy to foster innovation and support companies investing in research and development. The scheme was designed to encourage risk-taking in science and technology, offering substantial financial benefits to offset

Understanding the Merged R&D Tax Credit Scheme

8 March 2024

Introduction There are some significant changes to the R&D Tax Credits scheme that are going to be implemented soon. We wanted to keep you up to date on these changes and what it might mean for you. In a shift that is aimed at streamlining the process of claiming R&D Tax Credits, the UK government h

Spring Budget 2023: What It Means for Your R&D Claims

2 April 2023

A few interesting changes to the R&D Tax Credits scheme were announced on 15 March in the Spring 2023 Budget. We wanted to update you on these changes and give some guidance on how they may affect your future claims. Firstly, let’s get the ‘bad’ news out of the way: For the most part, the government

Case Study: How to successfully defend an HMRC enquiry into your R&D Tax Credits claim

19 January 2023

We’ve previously covered a few aspects of HMRC enquiries for R&D Tax Credit – for example the risk they pose to your business, why they happen, and how to avoid one. However, if you ever find yourself on the receiving end of one, what is the actual process of resolving it? In this article we take yo

How to Grow the Value of Your R&D Tax Credits Claims

18 April 2022

Introduction In this article we explore various ways you can ensure that you’re getting the most value from your R&D Tax Credit claims. In our experience, many companies that are claiming R&D Tax Credits are either under-claiming or preparing claims that are non-compliant in some way (which in turn

The Government Announces Significant Changes to the R&D Scheme to Combat Dubious Claims

6 January 2022

Introduction As we predicted in our recent article about the Autumn Budget , following a policy review, the Government has announced some significant changes to the R&D Tax Credits scheme via a report that they recently published. These changes will be included in the 2022-23 Finance Bill and will t

R&D Tax Credits and Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT)

7 November 2021

PCRT is a framework created jointly by all the main UK accounting associations (e.g. ACC, CIOT and others) that sets out a set of obligations and best practices for accounting and tax professionals. Members who don’t comply with the PCRT rules can be brought to disciplinary hearings, fined or even s

Slow Growth of R&D Expenditure Raises Stakes of Government Consultation

16 August 2021

A recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) report revealed that rate of growth of R&D expenditure in the UK slowed in 2019 to its lowest rate recorded in almost a decade. R&D expenditure which is incentivised by the R&D Tax Credits scheme, Innovate UK grants and other schemes, grew by just 3% in 2

Low Quality R&D Claims - Why They Exist and How to Spot One

22 January 2021

Last year, a report from the Office of National Statistics found that low-quality R&D claims were the ‘main cause of lost tax’ in the UK. This has brought into focus the high number of R&D claims that are filed each year that don’t meet the required standards – either in claim preparation, eligibili

R&D Claim Statistics 2020

21 October 2020

It’s that time of year when we analyse this year’s R&D Tax Credits statistics, recently published by HMRC. Our aim is to give you some insights about the current state of the scheme and also some benchmarks that you can compare with their own R&D claim position. We have mostly focused on 2017-18 bec

HMRC Enquiry Defence for R&D Claims

16 June 2020

In recent years it has become important for companies to be prepared to respond effectively if HMRC raises an enquiry into their R&D Tax Credit claims. As the R&D scheme has grown in popularity and more companies have sought to benefit from the scheme, we have seen a parallel trend of HMRC putting i

The Impact of the Coronavirus Crisis to the R&D Tax Credit Scheme

8 April 2020

The interruption to businesses caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has raised concerns among companies that have recently filed an R&D claim or are planning to do so in the near future. Businesses are looking for clarity on issues such as processing and payment delays, conflicts between the

R&D Tax Credits Statistics - October 2019

7 November 2019

On the 10th October 2019 HMRC released the latest statistics relating to the R&D Tax Credit scheme. In this article we summarise the most important points in the report and track the most significant changes that have taken place over the past year. Finally, we explore in what these changes means fo