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Research & Development Tax Relief
A valuable incentive for UK businesses investing in innovation.Companies undertaking eligible Research and Development can claim up to 33% of qualifying costs back through a cash credit or Corporation Tax reduction.
Minimise financial risk, unlock innovation. Unlock your business's full potential.
The UK Research and Development (R&D) Tax Relief scheme is a government initiative created to encourage innovation and technological progress across a wide range of sectors. It provides support to businesses developing new products, improving processes or creating advanced software, helping them overcome technical challenges while contributing to broader economic growth.
Who is eligible?
To qualify, a project must aim to deliver a scientific or technological advancement, address genuine technical uncertainty, and involve a structured process of experimentation or innovation. Only UK-registered limited companies that carry out eligible R&D work and incur qualifying costs within the UK can make a claim.Eligible projects can include developing new products, enhancing existing systems, or creating innovative technologies that push beyond current capabilities.
What are the benefits?
If your business is investing in innovation, developing new products or enhancing existing technologies, you may be able to claim up to 33 % of eligible R&D costs either as a cash credit or as a reduction to your Corporation Tax bill.This support helps reduce the financial uncertainty associated with research and development, enabling continued innovation, improved competitiveness and long-term growth.
Refundable VS Non-Refundable offsets
Eligible UK companies can claim tax relief on qualifying R&D expenditure through one of two schemes: the SME R&D Tax Relief or the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC).
The amount of benefit depends on company size, financial position, and the nature of the R&D work undertaken.
Up to 33% cash benefit – for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are profit-making or loss-making and conducting eligible R&D in the UK.
Around 10–20% tax credit – for large companies, or SMEs that have been subcontracted to perform R&D by another entity.These schemes help reduce the financial risk associated with innovation, supporting business growth and continued investment in research and development.
The UK Research and Development (R&D) Tax Relief scheme provides financial support to companies investing in innovative projects involving new products, processes, software or technological knowledge. Through this scheme, eligible businesses can claim tax relief on qualifying R&D expenditure, helping them continue developing advanced solutions without being restricted by the costs associated with innovation.The programme is designed to encourage technical progress across industries and ensure businesses can pursue ambitious ideas that push beyond existing capabilities.
Grant Help’s dedicated compliance team supports you through every stage of the R&D process, ensuring your claim meets all HMRC requirements. With our collaborative approach, sector expertise and ongoing guidance, we provide the clarity and direction you need. From preparing your claim through to managing any HMRC enquiries, we represent you at every step so you can stay focused on running and growing your business.
To help your business stay compliant throughout the R&D process, we’ve developed Grant Help Plus — a dedicated compliance platform designed to simplify documentation, record-keeping and audit readiness for both current and future R&D projects.
Grant Help Plus reduces the risk of non-compliance by giving you a central place to upload all supporting evidence and maintain accurate, real-time timesheets for our compliance team to review before submission. Key benefits include:
- Easy-to-use, contemporaneous timesheet tracking for staff involved in R&D
- Record-keeping tools that align with HMRC expectations
- Secure, timestamped storage of evidence to support your R&D claim
- Confidence that your business is fully prepared for any HMRC review or enquiry
Timesheets
Staff costs are often the largest component of an R&D claim, and accurate timesheets are essential to demonstrate how employee time was spent on eligible activities. To strengthen your claim and maintain compliance, Grant Help Plus provides a simple and effective way to capture and store contemporaneous time records, ensuring your evidence is complete, accurate and audit-ready.
Supporting Documents
Grant Help Plus also enables you to upload a wide range of supporting documentation required for HMRC-compliant R&D claims, including:
- Contractor invoices
- Project planning and scoping documents
- Progress and development reports
- Minutes from project or technical meetings
- Test protocols, test outputs, analysis of results and final conclusions
These records help substantiate your R&D activities and ensure your claim is fully evidenced and audit-ready.
Our team of R&D specialists, tax professionals and compliance experts has supported hundreds of businesses in navigating the UK’s R&D Tax Relief scheme. We bring detailed technical knowledge, sector experience and a commitment to accuracy to every claim.
Grant Help provides a complete end-to-end service - from assessing your eligibility, identifying qualifying expenditure and preparing the technical justification, through to managing any HMRC enquiries. We represent you throughout the entire process, allowing you to focus on running and growing your business with confidence.
A straightforward Approach.
We guide you every step of the way.
We review your eligibility.
We start by getting to know your business and outlining the funding options that may apply to you. This helps us identify which grants and incentives are the right fit for your circumstances.
We compile and review the documentation.
A strong application relies on clear and comprehensive evidence. We organise the material you provide and examine what is available, ensuring we have a solid foundation to progress your claim.
We prepare and submit your claim.
Once we’ve shaped your application to the highest standard, our team handles the submission on your behalf, making sure every aspect meets the necessary compliance expectations.
We represent you throughout the grant and audit process.
Our service covers the entire journey. We represent you during the submission, verification and review processes, ensuring you have consistent support from start to finish.
We identify future funding opportunities for your business.
We build lasting relationships with our clients and continue to look for new funding avenues that may benefit your business over time.
Your business is in good hands with Grant Help.
Seamless Process
Long-term support
Deep industry expertise
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We take care of your grants.
You focus on running your business.
You focus on your business.
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Strengthen your business offering.
By partnering with Grant Help, you gain access to a broad network of organisations across multiple sectors. This enables you to deliver added value to your clients through specialist funding support while enhancing the services you already provide.
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Increase client satisfaction and retention
