ForrestBrown, the UK’s leading innovation incentives consultancy, has launched Claim Clarity, a free and independent review designed to help businesses identify potential missed opportunities and risks within their most recent R&D tax relief claim.
The launch comes in the aftermath of changes to the UK’s R&D tax relief regime. The introduction of the merged scheme, new rules governing contracted-out R&D and restrictions on overseas expenditure have made it more complex for businesses to understand what activity can be claimed, and who is entitled to claim it.
For some companies, these changes are also reducing the value of their relief compared with claims prior to the merged scheme, placing greater scrutiny on R&D budgets and their role in supporting investment, recruitment and innovation.
Claim Clarity provides an objective five-point diagnostic covering opportunities to optimise claim value, areas that are working well, potential risks, alignment with best practice and performance against industry benchmarks.
The service does not assume that additional relief will be available or recommend changes for the sake of it. Instead, it helps businesses understand whether eligible activity or expenditure may have been missed, while identifying areas of uncertainty that could leave a claim exposed to HMRC scrutiny.
The review requires a company’s most recent claim documents, tax computation and accounts. It is typically completed within two weeks, with minimal disruption to the business. ForrestBrown then presents its findings and recommendations during a feedback call, while any further work is scoped and agreed separately.
Tom McDanell, Managing Director at ForrestBrown, said:
“The R&D tax landscape has evolved significantly in recent years through a series of piecemeal changes. We are now entering a period of greater stability, but lower credit rates, legislative reform and increased HMRC scrutiny mean businesses need more confidence than ever that their claims are both complete and compliant.
“For many managing directors and finance directors, reduced credit values are already a boardroom issue, with potential implications for hiring, investment and future innovation. Claim Clarity provides a proactive, independent review to help businesses understand whether they are claiming what they are entitled to, while identifying any areas that could attract HMRC attention.
“Claim Clarity is available regardless of who prepared the original R&D tax claim, providing an objective review designed to enhance claims while strengthening compliance.”