Chartered Accountants
HMRC Pausing R&D Tax Credits Payments
Last week, HMRC contacted accountancy firms across the UK to inform them that they have paused research and development (R&D) payments while they investigate ‘irregular claims’ in a bid to mitigate abuse of the relief.
This move by HMRC will undoubtedly cause a delay in the processing times of claims, however, it is understood that the majority of R&D tax credit claims are thought to be genuine and will not be affected.
David Morrison, Head of EQ Taxation, commented:
“While we believe that companies do not aim to intentionally submit bad claims, we know there are agents out there who promise the world and fail to deliver. HMRC have a responsibility to review claims and make sure it is not being abused.
“We have submitted several hundred successful claims for our clients and have an excellent track record as we take the time to fully understand the process to ensure it is a genuine claim and that all costs involved are accounted for. Whilst this will cause a delay in the processing times of claims, we are confident our clients will not be affected.”
HMRC have requested that claimants do not contact the R&D helpline/mailbox to chase their claims and have advised that they ‘hope to share more information’ with agents in the coming days.
We have helped a range of businesses make successful claims over the years and you can read more about them here.
If you’d like to discuss a potential R&D claim with our dedicated team, we would be happy to have an initial meeting to see if you are eligible to claim. Please email our R&D Taxperts or for more information, visit our R&D page.
