Fill in the figures, then click Work out my claim.
Result
Qualifying costs
| Cost | Spent | Qualifies |
|---|
What to do
| Step | What it means |
|---|
What it does, and what it leaves to you
- Covers: the merged R&D expenditure credit at 20%, notional tax for profitable and loss-making companies, enhanced R&D intensive support, the 30% intensity test, the 65% factor for subcontractors and external workers, and the PAYE and NIC cap on cash credits.
- Gives: the qualifying spend, the value of each route, the better one, and the fee an adviser would take at the percentage you enter.
- Not decided: whether your project is R&D in HMRC's sense, connected-party and group rules, grants and subsidised spend, overseas costs, contracted-out R&D, prior-year carry-forwards, and anything that changed after this was written.
Common questions
What is R&D tax relief?
A UK corporation tax relief for companies doing work that seeks an advance in science or technology. Since April 2024 most companies claim the merged scheme: a 20% taxable credit on qualifying costs.
What is the difference between a profitable and a loss-making claim?
A profitable company uses the credit to reduce its corporation tax bill, netting about 15p per £1 of qualifying cost at the 25% rate. A loss-maker can take it as cash at about 16.2p per £1, subject to a cap tied to PAYE and NIC.
What is ERIS?
Enhanced R&D Intensive Support: an extra 86% deduction and a 14.5% payable credit for loss-making companies whose qualifying R&D is at least 30% of total spend. It can be worth more than the merged scheme.
Why are subcontractor costs only 65%?
Only 65% of payments to unconnected subcontractors and externally provided workers counts as qualifying expenditure.
What is the payable credit cap?
Cash credits are capped at £20,000 plus 300% of the company's PAYE and NIC liability for the period. Anything above carries forward.
Should I use a claims agency?
Many charge 10-20% of the benefit. This calculator shows what the fee would be so you can compare it with doing the claim yourself or with an accountant on a fixed fee.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent.