R&D tax relief claims could pay the salaries of 39,281 Londoners for a year
While the number of research and development (R&D) tax relief claims have increased by 35 per cent per year since the introduction in 2001 to over £4 billion last year, many UK businesses are still not fully utilising this government scheme.
According to research, however, even with many not realising that the work they do may well qualify, the number of claims made does demonstrate how innovative British businesses are.
To put the sums claimed into perspective, the research published this week looked at how many people this sum could employ based on the average annual net salary, and which region is top when it comes to R&D tax relief claims.
Findings show:
– £4.3 billion has been claimed across all R&D tax relief schemes to date
– the average net salary currently sits at £24,365
– that’s enough to pay the wages of 177,711 for an entire year
London is home to the largest number of claims with £1.2 billion submitted. Even with the higher annual salary of £31,567, the R&D work going on throughout the capital could employ 39,281 people for a year.
Steve Govey, Head of R&D Tax Relief at Beavis Morgan, comments: “For businesses not yet claiming R&D Tax Relief, it often comes down to either a lack of awareness or misconceptions about who can claim.”
According to Steve the top 5 excuses he sees for not claiming money back are:
- We don’t pay tax anyway
- What we do isn’t unique
- My research project proved unworkable
- My accountant says I don’t qualify
- I don’t have the time to bother
“This is leaving many businesses missing out on this valuable government incentive offering money back for expenditure on R&D,” Steve says.
“This latest research really puts into context just how much R&D Tax Relief is worth to businesses when one considers the average wage.
“Running a business can be tough. There is so much to think about, you’re immersed in driving growth, and committed to achieving your targets – you don’t have the time to worry about R&D tax relief. But don’t fall into this trap! With expert guidance from an experienced professional, you’ll soon realise the scale of money you could be missing out on, and how little of your time it can take to access it.”
For more information about how you can earn government money back for innovation, or to arrange a no obligation preliminary meeting on how your business could qualify under the R&D scheme contact Steve Govey or your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.