This information is generally relevant for claims with a year-end after 1st March 2024. (It is also relevant for companies that had a shorter accounting period starting on or after 1 April 2023.)
In 2024 HMRC introduced a new step in the R&D claim process that requires companies to pre-notify HMRC of an intention to claim R&D tax relief. If the company is a new claimant then there will always be a requirement to pre-notify. For previous claimants, the rules about whether a claim notification is necessary are potentially very complex and rely on having detailed records of the precise date previous years’ R&D claims/tax returns were submitted by your accountant. Most companies will not have this information to hand. Therefore, we intend to submit notifications on behalf of our customers as soon as we have been told that there is a possibility of a claim and appropriate information has been provided.
To complete the notification you will need to provide the following information:
- Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). This is the same one as your tax return.
- Employer PAYE reference number
- VAT registration number
- Business type, your Standard Industry Classification (SIC) code(s)
- Name and contact details of the company’s main R&D contact
- Details of the agent who has prepared your claim (RandDTax)
- Accounting period start and end dates
- Summary of high-level planned R&D activities. You don’t need to include evidence on this form as it will be included on the additional information form when that is submitted.
You can submit a notification that you intend to claim at any point from the first day of the accounting period to 6 months after the end of the accounting period.
Submitting a notification doesn’t mean you have to make an R&D claim for that accounting period. However, not submitting a claim or a notification within 6 months of your accounting period ending means you will miss out on the opportunity to claim for that period.
Our general policy is to submit notifications of potential claims to HMRC after you have told us there might be a claim and as soon as possible after the end of your accounting period.
This approach means there is no possibility of missing out on making an R&D tax relief claim, even if your accountant completes the accounts just before their 9-month Companies House deadline, or if there is some other delay.
Providing that you have submitted a notification for the relevant year, the final deadline for submitting a claim remains the 2nd anniversary of the year end. After this date, you are unable to make a claim.
A sample of the HMRC notification form can be found here.