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What are the benefits of a self-service R&D tax portal?

Latest government R&D tax statistics show that in 2019-20 alone, 85,900 claims for R&D Tax Credits were made, generating a staggering £7.4 billion for UK businesses. But making an R&D Tax Credits claim is a complex process, even for companies that have gone through it before. Small businesses especially will only have the best chance of success by working with a specialist consultancy to guide them through the process.

A self-service portal like Tax Cloud does exactly this.

R&D tax relief claimants essentially have two options: Either they can use a full R&D tax service such as Myriad Associates were the application is done for you. Or, you can follow steps to make a claim yourself, using a self-service portal like Tax Cloud. It’s a little more time consuming as you’ll need to enter in your own figures and write your own technical report (with specialist support of course). But the beauty is, the fees are reduced to reflect this.

The Myriad Associates team developed the Tax Cloud portal to give SMEs in particular a straight-forward, cost-effective way to claim their own R&D tax credit entitlement. So no matter where in the UK your company is based, you can make your claim without even leaving your home or office.

How does Tax Cloud work?

After a quick and easy sign-up process, Tax Cloud automatically verifies your details through Companies House. You then use the Tax Cloud forms to provide information about your R&D projects and your R&D expenditure. The process is divided into ‘stages’ and each stage will only unlock once one our experts have checked it for you and provided feedback.

Once you’ve finished your claim, Tax Cloud takes your project details and creates an R&D tax relief claim report that’s ready for submission to HMRC.

The chance to work with a leading R&D tax relief specialist for less

A self-service R&D tax credit portal like Tax Cloud is designed with small businesses in mind. You can work through the process at your own pace, and get help from technical specialists, cost accountants and tax experts any time you’ve got a question. As you’re entering all your figures and writing your technical report yourself, our team has less input which in turn saves you money.

How much money can be saved on fees using Tax Cloud?

For claims receiving up to £200,000 in tax savings, we charge a percentage of the amount you successfully receive - in this case 5%. For claims of over £200,000 in tax savings, we charge a 2.5% success-fee. This compares very favourably to full-service fees which are often between 15 and 20%.

Use the Tax Cloud calculator to get an estimate of the corporation tax savings that you may receive from HMRC, as well as the fees payable for using Tax Cloud.

Access anywhere, any time

Tax Cloud - as the name suggests - is cloud based, so you don’t need to download any special software or run any maintenance. It’s simply a case of log in and go, meaning you can add to or change your R&D tax relief claim from any internet-connected device 24/7. It’s a fantastically flexible way of working, especially if multiple members of your team need access.

Tax Cloud also integrates with Xero which can make entering your figures even easier if Xero is something your company already uses.

What are R&D Tax Credits?

R&D Tax Credits is an HMRC tax relief scheme that allows UK companies to claim back up to 33% of their eligible R&D expenditure. The scope of qualifying projects and costs is incredibly broad, making it one of the most generous tax reliefs around.

R&D tax relief is either administered as a reduction in corporation tax, or as a cash credit if the company made a loss.

The R&D Tax Credits scheme itself is divided into two distinct branches: The SME scheme and RDEC. Before you begin your claim, it’s important to understand the differences between the two. Essentially, the SME scheme is more generous with up to 33% of eligible R&D costs reclaimable. RDEC is less generous at 13%, but as it’s aimed at much larger companies claim amounts can run into the hundreds of thousands or even the millions.

It’s a great opportunity, but bear in mind there are a few areas to understand before you make a claim:

Has your R&D project made an advance in science or technology?

If your company is taking a risk by innovating, improving, or developing a product, process, or service, then you may well qualify for R&D Tax Credits. The project must contain a level of technical uncertainty for a competent professional, so if you faced questions that left you and your team scratching your heads to find a solution, that’s a good indication that eligible R&D activities were taking place.

Do the R&D activities actually qualify for R&D Tax Credits?

All R&D projects are unique, but there are many eligible R&D activities that will qualify for R&D Tax Credits. So if yours includes any of the following then you could well have a claim:

• Defining technical objectives
• Identifying uncertainties
• Feasibility studies
• Reviewing new and competing technologies
• Analysing, designing and developing the technology
• Producing technical specification or other documents to explain and support the R&D project and advancement
• Testing the product, process or software
• Planning and managing projects.

In addition, certain indirect supporting activities may qualify for R&D tax relief, such as:

• Administration, finance, and personnel services specifically required to support R&D activities
• Training to support R&D

You can discover more about qualifying projects and expenditure on Myriad’s R&D Tax Credits page.

Are you ready to make an R&D tax relief claim?

R&D Tax Credits are a powerful way of supporting innovation in the UK economy and are extremely beneficial to companies of all sizes. This is particularly the case for smaller enterprises, where cash flow can be a critical issue. Plus, with costs rising and the economy weakened by the pandemic, there’s no better time to make an R&D tax relief claim.

Why not take a look at the Tax Cloud demo to understand more about getting the ball rolling. You can also drop our team a message or call 020 7360 4437.