R&D Tax Credit Specialists

R&D tax credit specialists for UK innovators

Most claims are written by generalists working from a template. Ours are written by specialists who understand the technology and the guidelines, which is what HMRC actually reads. Size your entitlement with the calculator, then let us build the claim.

Book a free entitlement review Use the calculator

What makes an R&D tax credit specialist

The word is used loosely. These are the things worth checking before you appoint anyone, including us.

Who writes the narrative

Ask for the technical background of the person drafting. Ours are engineers and scientists who interview your technical leads directly, rather than finance staff working from a cost schedule.

How the fee works

A fixed fee agreed before we start, quoted against size and complexity. No percentage of your credit, so nobody is paid more for a bigger number than the evidence supports.

What happens under enquiry

HMRC compliance activity on R&D claims has risen sharply. If a claim we prepared is enquired into, we handle the correspondence. Our reports are written on the assumption they will be read closely.

Both sides of non-dilutive funding

We write grant applications as well as claims, so grant funded projects are structured with the tax position in mind from the start rather than reconciled afterwards.

Across the projects we take on after screening, more than 90% of engagements end in funding or relief secured, and more than 80% of individual applications we write succeed. Both figures cover work we accepted, not every enquiry we receive.

Technical scoping with your engineers

We interview the people who did the work and separate genuine advances from routine development, so the claim is built on defensible projects rather than a spreadsheet of costs.

Cost analysis and apportionment

Staff time, externally provided workers, subcontractors, software, cloud and consumables, apportioned with a method we can stand behind if HMRC asks.

HMRC-ready technical report

Written in the language of the guidelines: baseline, uncertainty, advance and the competent professional. Plus the additional information form HMRC now requires.

Enquiry support included

If HMRC opens an enquiry into a claim we prepared, we handle the correspondence. Our reports are written on the assumption they will be read closely.

Entitlement calculator

Estimate what your R&D is worth

Enter the costs behind your technical work for one accounting period. We apply the current UK rules, including the 65% restriction on unconnected subcontractors, and show the working.

Where is the company financially?

Staff costs on R&D

Gross salary, employer NI and pension for the time spent solving the technical uncertainty.

Subcontractors and externally provided workers

UK-based subcontractors only. Usually claimable at 65% of the invoice for unconnected parties, which we apply for you.

Software, cloud and data

Licences, compute and datasets used directly in the R&D, apportioned to the project.

Consumables and materials

Materials, reagents, prototypes and a fair share of light, heat and power.

Clinical trial volunteers and other qualifying costs

Payments to trial participants and other categories HMRC allows.

Does the work qualify? Five questions HMRC will ask.

Were you resolving a technical or scientific uncertainty a competent professional could not simply look up?
Was the work aiming at an advance in the field, not just new to your company?
Was the work carried out mainly in the UK, or by UK-based staff and contractors?
Is the claimant a UK limited company paying corporation tax?
Can you evidence the project timeline, the people involved and the costs?

Which scheme applies to you

Merged R&D expenditure credit

Most UK companies, whatever their size.

20% above-the-line credit, worth roughly 15.0% to 16.2% of qualifying spend after tax.

Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS)

Loss-making SMEs where qualifying R&D is at least 30% of total expenditure.

An 86% enhancement plus a 14.5% payable credit, worth up to around 27.0% of qualifying spend in cash.

Rates and thresholds are set by HMRC and can change at a Budget. We confirm the rules that apply to your accounting period before we quote.

How a claim runs

Free entitlement review

A 20-minute call to test whether the work qualifies, which scheme applies and roughly what the claim is worth. If it is not worth claiming, we say so.

Technical interviews

Two to three short sessions with your technical leads. We do the writing, you correct the science.

Costs and methodology

We work with your finance lead or accountant to pull the qualifying costs and agree apportionment before anything is drafted.

Report, review, submit

You approve the technical narrative and cost schedule, then we file alongside your CT600 with your accountant and track the claim through to payment.

Founder time is roughly four to six hours in total, nearly all of it in the technical interviews.

Grants and R&D tax relief together

Non-dilutive funding works best as a stack. A grant pays for the project up front, relief returns cash on the spend afterwards.

Under the merged scheme, grant funding no longer restricts a claim: the credit is calculated on qualifying expenditure however the project was funded.
No project splitting. You do not need to carve grant funded costs out of the claim or track a subsidised proportion.
A de minimis state aid limit applies only to Northern Ireland registered companies claiming ERIS, independently of any grant.
Planning the grant and the claim together still beats optimising either one alone, which is why the same team handles both.

Talk through your stack Read the R&D tax credits guide R&D tax hub: claim types, calculator and FAQs

How we charge

A fixed fee agreed before we start, quoted against the size and complexity of the claim. No percentage of your credit, no equity and no lock-in on future years. You keep the technical report either way.

Already claiming elsewhere?

We will review last year's report free of charge and tell you plainly whether it would survive an enquiry and whether qualifying costs were missed.

Under enquiry already?

We defend claims through an HMRC compliance check, including claims written by other advisers. How enquiry defence works.

Questions companies ask before appointing a specialist

What does an R&D tax credit specialist do that an accountant does not?

An accountant assembles the numbers. A specialist establishes whether the work qualifies and writes the technical case HMRC actually assesses: the baseline in the field, the uncertainty, the advance sought and the competent professional behind it. We interview your engineers and scientists directly, which is why our claims read as technical documents rather than cost schedules.

How do you charge for R&D tax credit work?

A fixed fee agreed before we start, quoted against the size and complexity of the claim. No percentage of the credit, no equity and no lock in on future years, so nobody here is paid more for a bigger number than the evidence supports. You keep the technical report either way.

What happens if HMRC opens an enquiry?

If HMRC enquires into a claim we prepared, we handle the correspondence at no extra cost. We also defend claims prepared by other advisers on a fixed fee, including reviewing whether the original position is worth defending.

Can you review a claim another adviser prepared?

Yes. We review last year's report free of charge and tell you plainly whether it would survive an enquiry and whether qualifying costs were missed. A pre submission review is the cheapest form of enquiry defence there is.

Do you work with grant funded companies?

Constantly. We write grant applications as well as claims, so grant funded projects are structured with the tax position in mind from the start rather than reconciled afterwards. Under the merged scheme grant funding does not restrict the claim.