Ian Davie
Senior Consultant
In the Spring Statement of March 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced proposed reforms to the UK’s £8 billion research and development (R&D) tax credit scheme. These reforms aim to address concerns about fraud and errors within the system and to improve accessibility for businesses. A key proposal is the potential introduction of mandatory advance assurances, requiring companies to confirm the eligibility of their projects for R&D tax credits before submitting claims. Currently, this advance assurance option is available but seldom utilised voluntarily.
The consultation published on Wednesday 26th March seeks to enhance certainty for claimants and reduce fraudulent claims. The three goals of the consultation are:
The consultation closes on the 26th May 2025.
Given the journey that R&D agents and companies have had with dealing with HMRC over the last two to three years, utilising a pre-approval process could make the process much easier. It may also make it a lot harder, with HMRC’s lack of a technical capability in assessing whether R&D that has been completed is R&D, to understand why proposed R&D in the future is R&D, when companies don’t have all the answers.
The existing R&D Advance Assurance process does not get used heavily because anecdotally HMRC were more likely to refuse you were going to be doing R&D than accept, so why apply? TBAT Innovation have never suggested that companies proceed down the R&D Advance Assurance route for this very reason. TBAT will certainly be contributing to this consultation.
If no further changes are made to the operation of the scheme and Advance Clearance becomes mandatory, then companies could have to justify their R&D claims up to three times:
Something has to be done to make the process easier for companies not harder.
If anyone reading this has experience of the existing R&D Advance Assurance process, I would be happy to hear from you! Book a free 1-2-1 consultation.
A detailed summary of the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Realbuzz Group Ltd v HMRC (May 2025), focusing on the limits of HMRC’s discovery assessment powers in relation to R&D tax relief claims. We touch on key tribunal issues including the “hypothetical officer” test, the importance of adequate disclosure, and the legal protections available to taxpayers. The ruling offers important guidance for companies claiming R&D tax credits and clarifies HMRC’s ability to revisit prior-year claims.
The May 2025 Research & Development Communication Forum (RDCF) returned to an in-person format for the first time since the pandemic. Held in a historic setting with a focus on open dialogue, the forum covered key updates from HMRC, including policy changes, operational performance, and ongoing efforts to improve the R&D claims process. In this article, we share updates from the RDCF and our reflections on what it all means for businesses and advisors moving forward.
Assists organisations in accessing research and development grant funding across a range of UK and EU schemes and industry sectors.
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