From November 2015 HMRC introduced Advance Assurance for companies that claim Research and Development (R&D) tax relief.
If your company carries out R&D for itself or other companies, it could qualify for Advance Assurance. This means that for the first 3 accounting periods of claiming for R&D tax relief, HMRC will allow the claim without further enquiries.
Your company can apply for Advance Assurance if it meets the following conditions:
- Hasn’t claimed R&D tax relief before
- Annual turnover is £2 million or less
- Less than 50 employees
If you qualifies for Advance Assurance and you want to apply you can complete the form here. HMRC will then contact you to talk about your company’s activities in more detail. Most applications are dealt with by a short telephone call. More complex cases could take longer and HMRC may need to visit your company.
Once HMRC is satisfied that your company activities are within the rules of the scheme and you understand how the rules apply to your company they will send you a letter telling you their decision.
Further details can be found here.
Your company can still apply for R&D tax relief without applying for Advance Assurance.