HMRC aspires to deal with claims for payable R&D tax credits with 28 days, but the R&D team within HMRC appears to be under resourced. The current processing times are as follows:
- R&D tax credits – 87 days
- RDEC claims –186 days
Calling the R&D team won’t speed up your claim, and may just slow down the process for everyone. The best policy is to ensure the payment of the claim is not delayed unnecessarily by following these tips:
- Within the claim clearly and concisely describe the technological advances which the R&D is attempting to achieve.
- Analyse all relevant costs clearly.
- Do not include any costs which don’t qualify.
- If the CT600 has already been filed, submit the R&D claim using the online form.
- Include the banking details for the company.
Written by the Tax Advice Network