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New guidance on R&D tax relief reforms

Ahead of major changes to the R&D Tax Reliefs regime in April 2023, new guidance has been issued by HMRC for consultation.

20 December 2022

Ahead of major changes to the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Reliefs regime in April 2023, new guidance has been issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for consultation.

Comments can be made on the draft guidance up to 28 February 2023, ahead of the Spring Budget on 15 March 2023

We have previously highlighted the key changes in earlier articles:

The new guidance covers reforms to the R&D regime from 1 April 2023, and clarifies a number of technical issues and how they will work in practice.

It also highlights what additional information will be required for future claims for relief.

The guidance covers:

  • overseas expenditure - qualifying and non-qualifying
  • data licences and cloud computing services
  • claim notifications
  • mathematics
  • additional information to be provided in claims

In the 2021 Budget, the government announced a review of the R&D regime with the aim of ensuring the UK retained a competitive edge on innovation.

Following that review, a number of reforms were announced, including allowing relief for pure mathematics research, and data and cloud computing costs, but also restricting expenditure on some overseas R&D activities as well as introducing new anti-avoidance measures.

Draft legislation for these measures was published for comment on 20 July 2022 and final legislation will be included in the 2023 Finance Bill.

Further information

If you want to find out more about R&D Tax Relief and how this can benefit your business, head over to our R&D KnowledgeHub or contact a member of our R&D team.

Key contacts

Chris Walklett

Tax Partner

01905 732113

Email Chris

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