Novus Tax
- 3 days ago
- 3 min
Specialists in R&D tax credit, Capital tax allowance & Patent box
What does this mean?
There are often misconceptions about what an 'advance in science or technology' is. The words may make you think of 'white coat', 'cutting edge' and 'revolutionary advancements' but it's much broader than that.
R&D can take place in any industry.
Anytime a new product, service or process is created, there is a strong possibility it was through an R&D approach. It can even involve modifications of existing products, services or processes. And again, you do not necessarily have to have succeeded. The key word is 'tried'.
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SME R&D tax relief scheme
The SME R&D relief scheme works by allowing companies to deduct an extra 130% of their qualifying costs from their yearly profit as well as their normal 100% deduction.
This reduces a company's Corporation Tax. Depending on whether the SME is a profit or loss making company, returns can be between 18-33% on qualifying R&D expenditure.
R&D expenditure credit scheme
The RDEC scheme, replacing the large company scheme in 2016, is available for companies not considered an SME or SMEs who have been contracted to do R&D work by a large company. The return on the scheme is lower than the SME R&D relief scheme, calculated at 13% of a company's qualifying R&D expenditure, and is taxable. Companies claiming under this scheme can generally see a return of around 11% on qualifying expenditure.
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Am I eligible to make a claim?
UK limited company
Completed an accounting year
Spent money on qualifying R&D activities
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Is my company an SME?
There are two criteria to claim under the SME tax relief scheme:
1. Less than 500 staff
2. A turnover of under €100m or a balance sheet total under €86m
However, you need to include figures if your company has any connected or partner companies.
Connected companies
Partner companies
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How much could you claim?
Use our calculator to find how much you could benefit from an R&D tax claim
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Novus Tax was started to support companies who spend money towards innovation. Businesses work hard daily to look for solutions, and every solution, through research and development, stimulated the UK economy for a better today and tomorrow.
Our mission is to raise awareness of the schemes that more than 90% of eligible SMEs are missing out on. Whilst the number of cases is steadily rising, it is not enough as companies are either unaware of their eligibility or simply don't know how to claim.
We want to break away from the misconception that R&D is constituted by 'cutting-edge', 'white coat' and 'revolutionary advancement', and instead tell it how it really is - the little everyday attempts at improving products, services and processes.
Our curious, investigative nature when it comes to looking at your company has accounted to a combined professional experience of over 10 years winning and maximising R&D claims across a number of industries, so we can empower businesses' growth and innovation.
About us
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Use our calculator to find how much you could benefit from an R&D tax claim
Our process
1. What you do: the commitment from your end requires an average of 3.5 hours and can be all done by telephone and online, whichever method you prefer. All you need to do is provide us with information.
2. What we do: we take your information, look through your company's accounts and write a report to file with HMRC. We then submit this on your behalf.
3. The result: in approximately eight weeks' time you can receive your money from HMRC. Our fees are only payable after this point.
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Our services
Free Assessment
Before making any sort of commitment, we offer free assessments to any company who are unsure about their eligibility or qualifying R&D expenditure. This entails a telephone or video conversation where we get to know a bit about what your company does and the kind of costs you can claim back if you were to decide to make a claim.
For anyone who has not previously made a claim, we explain the scheme in more detail with information relevant to you.
For companies who have claimed before, we can use the assessment to explore whether the claims you have made in the past have been fully maximised and all your qualifying expenditure has been identified.
At this stage, if you decide that you are happy to go ahead and make a claim with us, we move onto writing a report for your company. This includes articulating the R&D activities in your company's projects, the advance that was sought, and identifying and justifying all qualifying costs
Writing your report
Filing your report
Once the report is complete, we file the claim with HMRC on your behalf. This means that all liability and responsibility for the contents of the report belongs to us for the next six years, reducing any risk to you to nothing. We also have a £1m PI Insurance in place, for added security.
Rarely, HMRC may decide to make enquiries about the reports that are filed. These can be as minor as clarifications or as serious as full investigations for misclaiming. In any case, these will all be directed to us. In the rare circumstances they do come up, we have the experience to resolve these quickly.
HMRC Enquiries
Receiving your rebate
Once a claim has been processed and approved, you will receive your benefit directly from HMRC.
We are able to maximise claim values because we have a fully comprehensive understanding and extensive experience of qualifying R&D costs. Even after your claim is finished, we can continue to support you by providing advice that will help map out the optimum way to spend and record your money in future R&D projects, in such a way that your next claims will contain that expenditure.
After services
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Our fees
We work on a contingency basis, meaning a fee is applicable only at the end of our service once you receive a cash rebate from HMRC. In the (unlikely) event a claim is unsuccessful, no fee would be payable.
We do not charge admin fees, filing fees or termination of contract fees. There are no hidden costs, and an invoice is raised only after you receive a benefit.
The fee is computed as a percentage of your benefit value, at the industry average of 25%. However, our pricing is dynamic and can change from case to case in particular circumstances.
We advise getting in contact to discuss this. We are committed to providing competitive pricing for our clients.
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FAQs
Am I eligible to claim?
Testimonials
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Our blog
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Meet the M.D.
As a Director and Tax Specialist with almost eight years' of experience in the government tax credit industry, my work is dedicated to stimulating UK innovation by supporting both mature and start-up companies access tax relief for money spent on research and development.
My key skills lie in thinking out of the box, the ability to uncover the finer points in pursuit of the bigger picture and an enthusiasm of keeping current with the dynamic business environment as a commitment to ongoing business development.
Prior experiences have accorded me with a thorough, up-to-date, and comprehensive understanding of R&D tax credit legislation and regulations, conducive to maximising claims by using a subjective approach to identify and justify all qualifying R&D costs for receiving maximum benefits for clients.
