This chapt er will out line t he r elief available f or ex pendit ur e on r esear ch and development , cover ing in par t icular :
- t he 150% t ax r elief available t o small and medium sized companies;
- t he t ax cr edit s available t o loss making small and medium sized companies;
- t he 125% t ax r elief available t o lar ge companies.
B8.1 Introduction
This r elief was or iginally int r oduced f or small and medium sized companies by Finance Act 2000. Not e t hat t he r elief is not available t o t r ader s – only t o companies.
The r elief has now been extended and improved by subsequent Finance Act s t o include r elief f or large companies and f or wor k subcontracted to small and medium companies
Usef ul guidance can be f ound in t he legislat ion in t he Miscellaneous Non St at ut or y Mat er ial, Number I X.
B8.2 Definition of R&D
The legislat ion def ines r esear ch and development (R&D) as act ivit ies t hat f all t o be t r eat ed as R&D in accor dance wit h generally accepted accounting practice.
Thus we need t o look at SSAP 13 (I AS 38) f or t he def init ion. This def init ion is t hen modif ied by guidelines and t he lat est of t hese wer e published in Mar ch 2004.
s.837A SI 2004/ 712 Misc I
SSAP 13 dist inguishes R&D act ivit y f r om non-r esear ch act ivit y by t he t est of whet her t her e is presence of an appreciable element of innovation. I f t he act ivit y depar t s f r om r out ine and br eaks new gr ound it is nor mally included;
however , if it f ollows an est ablished pat t er n it is nor mally excluded.
The f ollowing act ivit ies ar e nor mally included wit hin t he def init ion of R&D:
(a) exper iment al, t heor et ical or ot her wor k aimed at t he discover y of new knowledge, or t he advancement of exist ing knowledge;
(b) sear ching f or applicat ions of t hat knowledge;
(c) f or mulat ion and design of possible applicat ions f or such wor k;
(d) t est ing in sear ch f or , or evaluat ion of , pr oduct , ser vice or pr ocess alt er nat ives;
(e) design, const r uct ion and t est ing of pr e-pr oduct ion pr ot ot ypes and models and development bat ches;
(f ) design of pr oduct s, pr ocesses, ser vices or syst ems involving new
t echnology or subst ant ially impr oving t hose alr eady pr oduced or inst alled;
(g) const r uct ion and oper at ion of pr ot ot ypes and pilot plant s.
W or k on t he per iodic updat ing or modif icat ion of a pr oduct is not R&D if it does not involve an appr eciable element of innovat ion and does not br eak new gr ound.
A pr ogr amme of R&D may however r esult in incr ement al impr ovement s t o a pr oduct , ser vice or pr ocess.
B8.3 Small and medium sized companies
A company incur r ing qualif ying Resear ch and Development (R&D) ex pendit ur e will be able t o claim a deduction equal to 150% of the costs incur r ed in calculat ing it s PCTCT.
Par a 13 Sch 20 FA 2000
The usual ef f ect of t his is t hat t he further 50% of t he R&D expendit ur e needs t o be deducted in arriving at the adjusted profits for tax purposes.
Illustration 1
Small Limit ed spends £ 65,000 on qualif ying R&D in it s account ing per iod ended 31 December 2006.
I n calculat ing PCTCT f or t he year t o 31 December 2006 t he t ot al deduct ion f or R&D will be:
£ 65,000 x 150% = £97,500
I f t he £ 65,000 has alr eady been deduct ed in ar r iving at t he account ing pr of it , t his means t hat an addit ional deduct ion of
(£ 97,500 - 65,000) = £32,500 i.e. 50% of £ 65,000
should be put t hr ough as an adj ust ment in ar r iving at t he pr of it s f or t ax pur poses.
To qualif y f or t he r elief t he company must spend £10,000 on qualif ying R&D. Par a 1 Sch 20 FA 2000
This f igur e is f or a 12 month accounting period and will be pr opor t ionally r educed wher e t he account ing per iod is less t han 12 mont hs e.g. f or a six mont h per iod t he limit will be £ 5,000.
To qualify as a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) t he company must have:
(i) f ewer t han 250 employees; and Par a 1 Sch 20
FA 2000
(ii) eit her annual t ur nover of less t han 50m Eur os or an annual balance sheet t ot al of less t han 43m Eur os.
These limit s ar e in your Tax Tables.
B8.4 Qualifying R&D
Cer t ain condit ions have t o be met in r elat ion t o t he ex pendit ur e:
(i) it must be revenue not capital in nat ur e;
Par a 3 Sch 20 FA 2000
(ii) it must be related to a trade car r ied on or t o be car r ied on by t he company;
(iii) it must be incur r ed on:
(a) staff costs;
(b) software;
(ba) relevant payments to the subjects of clinical trials;
(c) consumable or transformable materials;
(d) subcontracted R & D costs; or (e) externally provided workers.
(iv) Any intellectual property cr eat ed as a r esult of t he ex pendit ur e must vest in the company;
(v) I t is not incurred in t he car r ying on of activities which ar e contracted out t o t he company by any per son (alt hough under FA 2002 t hese r ules have been ex t ended in cer t ain cir cumst ances - we will look at t his lat er );
(vi) I t is not subsidised, (alt hough an SME is allowed a 25% enhanced deduct ion on ‘subsidised’ expendit ur e pr ovided it would be available t o a lar ge company in t he same cir cumst ances).
B8.5 Staff costs
St af f cost s compr ise:
(i) all emoluments of what ever nat ur e paid out t o t he dir ect or s or employees ot her t han benef it s in kind;
Par a 5 Sch 20 FA 2000
(ii) secondary class one NIC paid by t he company;
(iii) cont r ibut ions t o pension f unds paid by t he company f or t he benef it of dir ect or s and employees.
Only st af f ing cost s f or dir ect or s and employees directly and actively involved in R&D will qualif y. W her e someone is partly engaged in R&D, t heir t ime is apportioned so t hat only st af f ing cost s incur r ed on R&D act ivit ies can be included. The cost of st af f who pr ovide support to R&D staff do not qualify, f or example secr et ar ies or administ r at ive st af f .
Resear ch and Development Expendit ur e 7 5
B8.6 Software
Q ualif ying expendit ur e is t hat which is incur r ed on sof t war e t hat is employed dir ect ly in car r ying out t he R&D, f or example t o r ecor d r esult s. The cost of sof t war e used indir ect ly, f or example t hat used by t he human r esour ces depar t ment t o r ecor d t he act ivit ies of t he R&D st af f , would not qualif y. Wher e only par t of t he cost incur r ed r elat es dir ect ly t o R&D a pr opor t ion of t he cost will be allowable.
B8.7 Consumable or transformable items
Q ualif ying expendit ur e is t hat which is incur r ed on r evenue it ems dir ect ly employed in R&D. This includes consumable st or es t oget her wit h wat er , f uel and power of any kind. W her e only par t of t he cost incur r ed r elat es dir ect ly t o R&D a pr opor t ion of t he cost will be allowable.
B8.8 Relevant payments to subjects of clinical trails Par a 6A
Sch 20 FA 2000
Relevant payment s mean payment s f or par t icipat ing in t he t r ials. A clinical t r ial is an invest igat ion in human subj ect s under t aken in connect ion wit h t he development of a healt h car e t r eat ment or pr oduct .
For lar ge companies, expendit ur e on or af t er 1 Apr il 2006 qualif ies. The dat e f or SMEs will be announced by st at ut or y inst r ument but will not be ear lier t han 1 Apr il 2006.
B8.9 Sub-contracted R & D
W her e t he SME subcont r act s R&D wor k t o a t hir d par t y, t he SME may claim r elief . The t r eat ment var ies depending on whet her t he t wo par t ies ar e connect ed.
Par a 9 Sch 20 FA 2000
W her e t he payment is t o a connected company, which dr aws it s account s up under GAAP, t he whole of any payment up t o t he amount of t he connect ed company’s ex pendit ur e is allowable.
Par a 10 Sch 20 FA 2000
In any other case 65% of t he payment s made can be claimed. However a j oint irrevocable election can be made f or connected company treatment. The t ime limit f or t he elect ion is t wo year s f r om t he end of t he f ir st account ing per iod in which t he cont r act is ent er ed int o.
Par a 11 & 12 Sch 20 FA 2000
B8.10 Externally provided workers
W her e a company makes a payment t o anot her per son f or t he pr ovision of wor ker s, sever al condit ions apply in or der t o get r elief f or t he payment . An ext er nally pr ovided wor ker must :
Par a 8A Sch 20 FA 2000
(i) be an individual;
(ii) not be also a dir ect or or employee of t he company;
(iii) be obliged t o pr ovide ser vices t o t he company per sonally;
(iv) be under t he cont r ol of t he company.
As wit h t he company’s own st af f , t he ext er nally pr ovided wor ker s must be directly and actively involved in R&D. Secr et ar ial and administ r at ive ser vices ar e specif ically excluded.
W her e a wor ker is par t ly engaged in R&D, t he expendit ur e must be appor t ioned.
I f t he ex t er nally pr ovided wor ker s ar e not provided by a connected company 65% of t he payment made will be qualif ying ex pendit ur e. However , t he company and t he st af f pr ovider can jointly elect in writing for the connected company rules to apply. The election is irrevocable and must be made wit hin two years f r om t he end of t he f ir st account ing per iod in which t he cont r act is ent er ed int o.
Par a 8E & 8D Sch 20 FA 2000
W her e t he wor ker s ar e pr ovided by a connect ed company and t hat company dr aws up it s account s in accor dance wit h GAAP t hen t he whole of t he payment up t o t he st af f pr ovider ’s cost of t he wor ker s can be claimed.
Par a 8C Sch 20 FA 2000
B8.11 R&D Tax Credits
This r elief allows companies wit h t r ading losses t o “surrender” par t of t hat loss t o t he gover nment in r et ur n f or a t ax r ef und.
A company wit h a t r ading loss t hat has incur r ed qualif ying R&D can sur r ender all or par t of t he loss as f ollows.
Fir st ly t he surrenderable amount needs t o be calculat ed. This is t he lower of:
(i) t he unrelieved trading loss; and
(ii) 150% of the qualifying R&D expenditure.
Par a 15 Sch 20 FA 2000
For t hese pur poses an unr elieved t r ading loss means t he trading loss of t he per iod reduced by any actual and potential claims for relief for that loss in the current period and any ot her act ual loss r elief claims made in r espect of t he loss.
No account is t aken of losses brought forward or carried back to t his account ing per iod.
Once t his loss has been sur r ender ed t he amount of credit given is the lower of:
(i) 16% of t he sur r ender able loss f or t he per iod; and (ii) t he company’s PAYE and NIC bill f or t he per iod.
Par a 16 Sch 20 FA2000 77 Resear ch and Development Expendit ur e
Illustration 2
Medium Lt d has t he f ollowing r esult s:
Tr ading loss £ 170,000 Q ualif ying R&D £ 45,000 PAYE/ NI C bill £ 85,000 The sur r ender able loss is t he lower of : (i) £ 170,000
(ii) £ 45,000x 150% = £ 67,500 i.e. £ 67,500
The t ax cr edit given will be t he lower of (i) 16% x £ 67,500 = £ 10,800
(ii) £ 85,000 i.e. £10,800
This t ax cr edit of £ 10,800 will eit her be used t o r educe Medium Lt d ‘s t ax bill if it has ot her sour ces of income or will be r eceived as a t ax f r ee r ef und.
The t r ading loss of t he company car r ied f or war d is now:
£ 170,000 - £ 67,500 = £ 102,500
For expendit ur e of £ 45,000 t he company has r eceived a r ef und of £ 10,800 which equat es t o 24% (10,800/ 45,000) or 150% x 16% = 24%.
Illustration 3
Raf ael Lt d, a small company, spends £ 125,000 on qualif ying R&D. The company has a t r ading loss of £ 135,000 and has DI I I income of £ 40,000. The company’s PAYE/ NI C bill of £ 67,000.
The sur r ender able loss is t he lower of :
(i) £ 135,000 less t he £ 40,000 pot ent ial CY loss claim i.e. £ 95,000 (ii) £ 125,000 x 150% = £ 187,500
i.e. £ 95,000
The t ax cr edit given will be t he lower of (i) 16% x £ 95,000 = £ 15,200 (ii) £ 67,000
i.e. £15,200
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B8.12 Large Companies Sch 12
FA 2002
Lar ge companies qualif y f or R&D r elief f or accounting periods ending on or after 1 April 2002.
Lar ge companies ar e t hose t hat do not qualif y as SMEs under t he r ules above.
The r elief given t o lar ge companies is a 125% deduction in calculat ing PCTCT.
The usual ef f ect of t his is t hat t he further 25% of t he R&D expendit ur e needs t o be deducted in arriving at the adjusted profits for tax purposes.
Par a 11 Sch 12 FA 2002
Illustration 4
Lar ge Limit ed spends £ 245,000 on R&D dur ing t he account ing per iod ended 31 Mar ch 2007.
The deduct ion in calculat ing t he PCTCT will be:
£ 245,000 x 125% = £ 306,250
I f t he £ 245,000 has alr eady been deduct ed in ar r iving at t he account ing pr of it , t his means t hat an addit ional deduct ion of
(£ 306,250 - 245,000) = £61,250 i.e.25% of £ 245,000
should be put t hr ough as an adj ust ment in ar r iving at t he pr of it s f or t ax pur poses.
The def init ion of r esear ch and development is t he same as t hat which is applied t o small and medium sized ent er pr ises.
To qualif y f or t he r elief t he company has t o spend a minimum of £10,000 dur ing t he account ing per iod. This limit is again pr o r at ed f or account ing per iods of less t han t welve mont hs.
A lar ge company can claim for expenditure on work contracted to it pr ovided it is cont r act ed by anot her lar ge company or any per son ot her wise t han in t he cour se of a t r ade char geable t o Schedule D Cases I or I I .
Par a 4 Sch 12 FA 2002
No r elief can be claimed wher e wor k is subcont r act ed t o a lar ge company by an SME as t he SME will claim r elief .
Ther e is no requirement for the intellectual property cr eat ed by t he R&D to vest in t he company.
Resear ch and Development Expendit ur e
B8.13 Subcontracted R&D
Lar ge companies will be able t o claim relief for R&D subcontracted to others and on cont r ibut ions t o independent r esear ch and development so long as it is expendit ur e incur r ed in making payment s t o qualifying bodies being:
Par a 5 Sch 12 FA 2002
• Univer sit ies;
• Char it ies;
• Scient if ic r esear ch or ganisat ions;
• NHS bodies; and
• I ndividuals or par t ner ships.
Relief of 125% can be claimed by an SME f or R&D subcont r act ed t o it so long as it s t ot al expendit ur e (it s own plus subcont r act ed) on R&D f or t he account ing per iod exceeds £ 10,000. This is r educed f or account ing per iods of less t han 12 mont hs.
Par a 7 Sch 20 FA 2000
The wor k has t o be subcont r act ed t o t he SME by a lar ge company or any ot her per son not t ax able under Schedule D Cases I or I I .
The SME can claim f or expendit ur e on wor k dir ect ly under t aken it self or f or ex pendit ur e wher e t he wor k is under t aken by ot her s on behalf of t he SME so long as t he payment s ar e t o qualif ying bodies as f or lar ge companies above or individuals/ par t ner ships.
B8.14 Vaccine Research Sch 13
FA 2002
A similar r elief is available f r om 22 Apr il 2003 f or companies car r ying out r esear ch int o cer t ain vaccines and medicines (TB, Malar ia, HI V and AI DS).
For large companies t he deduct ion is 150% wit h no ot her par t icular condit ions applying i.e. no £ 10,000 limit et c.
Par a 21 Sch 13 FA 2002
For SMEs t he r elief is a deduct ion of 150% of t he cost incur r ed if t hey do not qualif y f or R&D r elief and a further 50% (i.e. 200% in t ot al) deduct ion if t hey do so qualif y.
The amount claimable can be included in a t ax cr edit claim by t he SME.
Par a 14 Sch 13 FA 2002
B8.15 Claims for Research and Development relief. Par t 9A t o 9C Sch 18 FA 1998
For account ing per iods ending on or af t er 31st Mar ch 2006 all claims f or R&D t ax cr edit s and enhanced deduct ions will need t o be made wit hin t he company’s t ax r et ur n.
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Par agr aphs 83A t o 83E of Sch 18 FA 1998 ar e amended t o include all R&D r elief claims, not j ust t ax cr edit claims. Similar r ules have been added f or lar ge company claims and vaccine r elief .
The r ules r elat ing t o penalt ies in Par a 83F Sch 18 FA 1998 r emain specif ic t o t ax cr edit s. Claims f or enhanced deduct ions will be cover ed by t he nor mal penalt y r egime f or f r audulent or negligent r et ur ns.
For account ing per iods ending af t er 31 Mar ch 2002 but bef or e 31 Mar ch 2006 all claims must be amended or wit hdr awn by 31 Mar ch 2008.
Pr eviously t her e wer e only specif ic r ules r elat ing t o R&D t ax cr edit s but none r elat ing t o t he enhanced r elief which meant t hat t he six year t ime limit f r om t he end of t he account ing per iod applied.
Example 1
Lamp Lt d, a small company, spends £ 35,000 on R&D dur ing t he year t o 31 Mar ch 2007. Pr of it s bef or e R&D deduct ions ar e £ 155,000.
You ar e r equir ed t o calculat e t he PCTCT
Example 2
Net Lt d, a small company, spends £ 150,000 on R&D. Dur ing t he year t he company makes a t r ading loss of £ 70,000 and had a PAYE/ NI C bill of £ 35,000.
You ar e r equir ed t o calculat e t he amount of t ax cr edit t he company may claim.
Resear ch and Development Expendit ur e
Answer 1
£ Pr of it s 155,000 Less R&D 35,000 x 150% (52,500)
PCTCT £102,500
Answer 2
The sur r ender able loss will be t he lower of :
£
Unr elieved loss 70,000
150% x 150,000 225,000
Ther ef or e 70,000 The t ax cr edit will be t he lower of
16% x 70,000 11,200
The NI C/ PAYE bill = 35,000
Ther ef or e t he t ax cr edit will be £11,200
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