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Research and Development (R&D) expenditure credit

Who it is for

You can claim if your accounting period started before 1 April 2024 and your business is either a large company, or a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) that:

• was subcontracted R&D work
• received State Aid for the project
• had R&D costs subsidised, eg, by a grant

If none of these apply, you may qualify under the SME R&D tax relief scheme instead.

To claim, your company must also:

• be actively trading
• be liable for Corporation Tax
• have a project that qualifies as R&D
• incur eligible R&D costs

Support you can get

The tax credit is worked out as a percentage of your qualifying R&D costs. The rate on costs from:  

• 1 April 2015 up to and including 31 December 2017 is 11%  
• 1 January 2018 up to and including 31 March 2020 is 12%  
• 1 April 2020 up to and including 31 March 2023 is 13%  
• 1 April 2023 up to and including 31 March 2024 is 20%

How to apply

If you’re a small and medium-sized enterprise and are eligible to claim R&D expenditure credit, you may be able to apply for advance assurance to confirm if your claim will be accepted.

You must also check if you need to tell HMRC that you're planning to claim this relief.

Support organisers

• HM Revenue & Customs

Next Steps

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