Let’s be honest, tax relief isn’t the most exciting issue that SMEs face. However, the reality is that done well, it can be the difference between a firm’s success, stagnation or even failure. Tax relief comes in many forms but, for now, I want to concentrate on a lesser known version set up by the Government to stimulate innovation across the economy. This is Research & Development (R&D) tax relief and is applicable to businesses of any size who spend time and money developing a new product, process or service.
Through extensive research across the UK, we’ve identified that nearly eight in ten SMEs are likely to be eligible for R&D tax relief but incredibly, up to 55% of those aren’t claiming. If we conservatively assume that two thirds of Britain’s 5.7 million SMEs are actively trading, this translates to approximately 1.6 million small businesses who are missing out on this valuable relief. In our experience at Catax, the typical R&D claim is worth £46,000 – so the total amount that small businesses could be missing out on equates to £74 billion.
Read more here.