Start the year with some much-needed clarity on existing and upcoming changes to R&D tax relief.   With the landscape of R&D tax relief undergoing substantial changes, it’s crucial that you stay informed and prepared, as these are set to impact how you plan and claim R&D tax credits for your clients.   IF R&D Tax Credits is here to help you remain informed and compliant. Let’s dive into the changes and understand the implications for both companies and accountants.   What are the changes to the R&D tax relief scheme?   Changes Effective in 2023: Revise ..read more

March 31 year-end: use it or lose it. As a business with a March year-end, you’ll want to ensure you use all the tax reliefs available to you before your current tax year ends on 31 March 2024. If you miss the deadline to make a claim, you lose your ability to claim for previous years. For example: R&D claims for accounting periods ended 31 March 2022 must be lodged with HMRC before 31 March 2024, or you will lose the ability to claim for that period.   It pays to be prepared. The landscape of R&D tax relief is undergoing substantial changes; it’s crucial that you stay informed an ..read more

Amongst all the other announcements from the Chancellor in yesterday’s Autumn Budget Statement, there was significant news for the R&D Tax Relief scheme. Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the SME and large company R&D schemes are to be merged for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.   Whilst this has come at a time of unprecedented change to the R&D regimes, the delay to the implementation is welcome news for all companies as it was announced previously that the new regime would apply to expenditure from 1 April 2024. Therefore, companies will now have considerabl ..read more

Why are HMRC invalidating claims? The root cause of claims being invalidated by HMRC lies in the new documentation requirement introduced by HMRC 4 weeks ago. As of August 8, 2023, all R&D relief claimants are required to complete an Additional Information Form (AIF) alongside their claims. The AIF includes details of qualifying expenditure and contact details for the main R&D contact at the company and any agent involved in the claim. Failure to include this form renders the claim invalid.   What does it mean for businesses who are claiming R&D Tax Relief? HMRC has started se ..read more

As of August 8th, there are significant changes to the process of claiming R&D tax credits. From this date, new criteria will apply to all R&D claims, regardless of the tax year they are for. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the rejection of incomplete submissions by HMRC. Notable adjustments will be introduced in the following areas: Project Reporting Reporting Requirements for Qualifying Expenditure Company and Contact Details At IFTC, we are R&D tax credit experts who specialise in R&D tax credits. We have the expert knowledge to help and support you thro ..read more

This week, draft legislation has been released, shedding light on the merging of the existing SME scheme and RDEC scheme into a single, unified R&D tax relief program. This new scheme is slated to be effective for accounting periods commencing on or after 1st April 2024. As of now, the main features of the proposal are as follows: Single R&D Relief: The proposed scheme aims to introduce a unified R&D relief for the majority of companies, which will be provided as an expenditure credit. This credit will be set at a flat 20% gross rate, subject to corporation tax. Consequently, eli ..read more

World Intellectual Property Day is a global observance held on April 26th to raise awareness about the significance of intellectual property rights in fostering innovation. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity,” which recognises the contributions of women to the world of innovation. Safeguarding your IP is vital to prevent others from using or selling it without your consent. By licensing or selling your IP, you can generate profits or royalties. Moreover, IP can serve as collateral for securing investments or loans from financial insti ..read more

We’d like to make you aware of the biggest change to European Patent Law since its inception in the 1970s (Unified Patent Court). It will happen on the 1st of June 2023, and might impact you if your business holds European Patents. Unified Patent Court On Feb 17th 2023, Germany ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC), which will enter into force on 1 June 2023. The UPC is an international court set up by participating EU Member States to deal with the infringement and validity of both Unitary Patents and European patents, putting an end to costly parallel litigation and enhanci ..read more

What is a Trade Mark? Trade marks indicate the origin of a product or service to the public and are an important form of Intellectual Property (IP). Trade marks (TM) are registrable, which means you can apply to get your trade mark registered at a national or Regional IP Office (e.g. the UK IP Office or the European IP Office). An unregistered TM may use the symbol and only a registered TM can use the ® symbol. Trade marks protect your brand and intellectual property, registered TMs can last indefinitely once they are renewed every ten years, for example Bass® with its Red Triangle logo was r ..read more

Thanks to being homebound during multiple lockdowns, DIY fever has gripped many people throughout the UK and Ireland. DIY projects have ranged from small jobs — such as finally hanging the ‘new’ curtains which were purchased back in 2015 — to the more extravagant new home builds. This has resulted in increased opportunities for many companies in the construction industry, both in rectifying DIY disasters and building new dream dwellings. Large commercial projects are also happening, resulting in work levels not seen since before the financial crash in 2007. However, with the increase in demand ..read more