The latest HMRC figures have shown a surge in the amount of Research and Development (R&D) tax relief savings being made by East Anglian companies compared to their counterparts across the rest of the UK, according to R&D tax relief specialist Jumpstart.
With a 48% year on year increase in the total R&D tax credits claimed in 2015-2016, analysis of the latest HMRC figures for the FYE 2016 shows East Anglian businesses accounted for 10% of the UK’s total claims.
Jumpstart’s East of England Business Development Manager, Lee Williams, comments: “These latest HMRC figures are a fantastic demonstration of how companies in the East of England have benefited from the R&D tax relief scheme in terms of tax savings compared to companies across the rest of the UK.”
Of the 26,255 claims across the UK totalling £2.9billion in tax benefits, 2,630 claims came from companies in East of England resulting in £370million back. Of these, 2,180 were claimed under the SME scheme and the remainder were claimed under the large company scheme.
The figures show a concentration of claims in three key sectors across the UK:
· Manufacturing – 28% of claims and 32% of total claimed
· Information & Communication – 26% of claims and 20% of total claimed
· Professional, Scientific & Technical – 20% of claims and 23% of total claimed.
Lee continues: “Whilst uptake of the UK government’s R&D tax relief scheme is increasing across the UK and is healthy across the Eastern region, there are still companies who are not reaping the full benefits of the scheme.
Also, local companies could be under claiming or over claiming because their technical project activities and expenditures are not being accurately interpreted against government legislation. As well as the introduction of increased scrutiny over such claims by HMRC, the
process of claiming is very much a technical assessment so it is important that companies, whether in profit or loss making, instruct a specialist advisor to handle this for them.”
Since its inception, Jumpstart has helped its clients recover over £95million in R&D tax relief and has identified over £482million in eligible R&D expenditure.
Any company wishing to find out more about R&D tax relief should contact Lee Williams on 0131 240 2900 or email [email protected].