Which positions or staff roles within a company can be incorporated into an R&D tax credit claim?

Various individuals from different areas of your business may be engaged in your R&D endeavours. It is essential to evaluate each individual’s actual role, rather than focus on just their job title, in a qualifying project.

An individual’s official designation is less significant than determining whether they genuinely participated in qualifying direct or indirect R&D activities.

To identify staff costs eligible for R&D tax relief, you should first ensure that the work is relevant to your trade and part of a specific project seeking advancements in science or technology.

After identifying the qualifying R&D project, assess the project’s boundaries and identify the expenses that can be included in your claim. Often, the most substantial R&D cost is the staffing expenses of individuals involved in the R&D.

It is crucial to identify not only the individuals engaged in the projects but also the specific activities they performed and the proportion of their total time dedicated to those particular R&D activities. This is why we recommend you keep your entire R&D project well-documented with time sheets. The more detail, the better! With that said, HMRC understand that first-time claimants most likely aren’t aware of this, and so they can make justified estimates in your claim, backed up your technical narrative.