Do I have to restate or refile my previous accounts to receive R&D tax credits?

Generally, it is not necessary to restate or refile your statutory accounts when making an R&D claim. Claims are treated as a prior-year tax adjustment, which means they are submitted through your Corporation Tax Return (CT600) rather than changing your published statutory accounts. This approach gives businesses the opportunity to claim relief for qualifying R&D expenditure for up to two years after the end of the accounting period.

You can alternatively choose to amend your prior-year accounts. Some businesses do this to recognise the R&D tax credit as income or to adjust reported tax balances. However, it’s not a requirement for HMRC.

It’s important that any adjustments are carefully considered with your accountant. This helps ensure the treatment in the tax computation remains consistent with the company’s statutory accounts and that the figures reported to HMRC align with the underlying financial records.

If you are unsure how the R&D benefit should be reflected in your tax return or financial reporting, seeking professional guidance from our team at Alexander Clifford can help ensure the claim is prepared correctly and the accounting treatment is applied consistently.