R&D Tax Relief - Improving claims, reducing risks

Originally a Physicist with industry experience of computational modelling and software development for the healthcare and defence sectors, Jonny has been working in R&D tax relief for over 15 years.  He spent a decade at KPMG and EY, culminating in him leading the largest claims for some of the most famous companies in the world.  Recognising that his passion comes from truly helping businesses, he moved to Cooper Parry, a Top-20 accounting firm, to become the Head of R&D Services for fast growing, highly innovative businesses in the UK.

The insights he got from this allow him to advise businesses on not just the R&D claim itself, but how it links with his clients’ wider business plans and strategy.  His advice enabled many businesses to achieve higher valuations on subsequent funding rounds, and prevented excessive dilution of founders’ shares by furthering development utilising the cash obtained from R&D tax credits.

With tightening audit and tax regulations impacting how accountancy firms can advise their clients, Jonny joined Wandsworth in early 2024, enabling him to bring his combination of deep R&D specialism and business acumen to his clients from a position of true independence.

Patrick founded Wandsworth in 2014 to provide cost-effective, high quality services for clients in all sectors of all sizes. Drawing on many years of expertise in the industry, Patrick set Wandsworth and has utilised a collaborative, transparent and technically robust approach to help his clients achieve R&D tax relief worth multiple millions. He assists with the tax planning stages right through to agreement and negotiations with HMRC where needed, providing full support and back-up documentation for the submission of reports and enquiry defence. Patrick and other senior team members are always involved on all projects at every step of the way.

Prior to Wandsworth, Patrick worked at leading boutique tax firms before heading up his own team within an international practice, giving him the skills needed to deal with his clients’ broad needs. Patrick is highly experienced in this sector with an excellent understanding of R&D.

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If you’re new to R&D claims, we keep the process simple by handling everything for you. Our process is efficient and requires minimal input from your team, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

• Comprehensive Eligibility Assessments – We review your projects to determine which activities qualify for research and development tax credits.
• End-to-End Claim Management – We gather the necessary data, prepare documentation, and submit your claim to HMRC.
• Expert Support for HMRC Enquiries – If your research and development claim HMRC is questioned, we provide full support to ensure your claim is approved.
• Maximum Tax Benefits – We ensure your R&D tax claim is optimised, so you receive the highest possible relief.

If you’ve been making R&D claims for years, then we can help you modernise your approach to ensure ongoing compliance.  Whether that’s by:

• Reviewing Your Existing Claims – We give all claims a Red / Amber / Green rating with feedback on how to improve the robustness.

• Conducting Technical Interviews – We help your team understand what does and doesn’t qualify for the relief.

• Ad hoc advice – We can be there if you just need some advice and don’t know where to turn.

R&D tax relief is a UK government incentive designed to reward businesses that invest in innovation. Whether you are developing new products or improving existing processes, if you’re solving technological challenges, you could be eligible to claim R&D tax relief on qualifying expenditures.

Who Can Benefit?

Many industries qualify for research and development relief, including:

• Technology & Software Development – Creating new software or improving back-end functionality such as improving security, or developing algorithms.

• Manufacturing & Engineering – Enhancing production processes, reducing wastage, testing new materials, or developing prototypes.

• Construction & Architecture – Innovating in energy efficiency, materials, or structural designs.

• Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences – Conducting medical research, drug trials, or developing medical devices.

Even if your project was unsuccessful, you may still be eligible for research and development tax credit claims.

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The amount of R&D tax relief you can claim depends on the size of your business and the date of your expenditure.

• For all accounting periods beginning after March 2024, all businesses can obtain relief of around 16% – either as a tax saving or as cash back.  R&D-intensive small businesses could see that rate as high as 27%.
• For earlier periods,
  • Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can claim between 24% and 33% of eligible R&D costs as tax relief or a cash credit.
  • Large companies using the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme can receive a 10% tax credit on qualifying R&D spend.
• The Legislative changes introduced in April 2024 are aimed at streamlining the system but, together with a host of recent changes to qualifying expenditure categories and rates of relief, it has significantly increased the current complexity of the R&D tax relief landscape