South East England leads the nation in R & D Tax Credit Claims

Jane Lambert

Last month I reported that South East England led the nation in patenting (see "South East leads the Nation in Patenting" 15 July 2014). Today I reported that companies in the South East lead the nation in the number of R & D tax credit claims in 2013 followed by companies with registered offices in London though the amount claimed from London based companies exceeded those claimed from companies in the South East (see "R & D Tax Credit Statistics" 25 Aug 2014 Patent Box and Tax Credit Blog). Companies with registered officers in the East of England which includes Cambridge and Essex came third. This confirms that R & D is concentrated in and around England which is unlikely to come as much if a surprise to anyone.

R & D tax credits are deductible allowances against corporation tax for research and development expenditure. If a company is not liable for tax in the year for which the claim is made it can apply for a cash payment from the Revenue. These allowances were introduced for small and medium enterprises in 2000 and extended to larger companies in 2002. They are remarkably generous and reward particularly when combined with other incentives such as the patent box.

Our chambers are almost unique in that our intellectual property specialists work under the same roof as Atlas Tax Chambers and share the same clerks. We can thus provide comprehensive IP and corporation tax advice to businesses that invest heavily in high technology. Should anyone wish to discuss this article or any of the topics referred to he or she should call us on 020 74404 5252 during office hours or contact our clerks through this form.

Further Reading

HMSO Research and Development (R&D) Relief for Corporation Tax
Jane Lambert R & D Tax Credit Statistics 25 Aug 2014 Patent Box and R & D Tax Credit Blog