UK R&D Tax Credit Statistics September 2026: Key Insights

Fewer companies are claiming R&D tax credits, but the total amount being claimed has gone up. If you're weighing up whether to make a claim, the reasons behind those two trends tell you a lot about where R&D tax relief stands today.

HMRC published its R&D tax credits statistics on 29 September 2026. They cover the 2024 to 2025 financial year and are the first to cover the Merged RDEC and ERIS schemes exclusively, which have now replaced the older SME and RDEC schemes.

Below, we walk through the key figures, compare them with the September 2025 release, and explain what they mean if you're claiming, or thinking about claiming, for the first time.

What do the September 2026 R&D tax credit statistics show?

HMRC estimates that companies claimed £8.2 billion in R&D tax relief for the 2024 to 2025 financial year, up 5% on the previous year. That relief corresponds to £51.0 billion of qualifying R&D expenditure, 7% higher than the year before.

The number of claims moved the other way. There were an estimated 40,325 claims, a fall of 17%, driven by a 19% drop in claims from SMEs while claims from large companies rose 4%. Fewer claims and more money claimed means the average claim value increased by 27%, accounted for by large companies making bigger claims.

Relief claimed through the SME and ERIS schemes fell 29% to £2.3 billion, while relief claimed through RDEC and Merged RDEC rose 29% to £5.9 billion. An estimated 91% of Merged RDEC claims came from SMEs, so a fall in the SME scheme figures doesn't mean SMEs have stopped claiming. Across the schemes as a whole, large companies received £4.6 billion of relief and SMEs received £3.6 billion.

How do the 2026 statistics compare with 2025?

Last year's release covered 2023 to 2024, the first year in which the new SME and RDEC rates applied for part of the period. This year's covers 2024 to 2025, the first year for the merged schemes and the first with the new rates applying in full. Here's how the main figures line up.

HMRC revises earlier years each September as late claims come in, so the 2023 to 2024 numbers in the 2026 release are higher than those first reported in 2025. Total relief for that year, for example, now stands at £7.8 billion rather than the £7.6 billion originally reported.

The direction of travel is clear, though. Claim numbers have now fallen for a second year running, after a 26% drop first reported last year. Relief claimed has stopped falling and started to rise, partly because the 20% RDEC rate now applies for a full year, and a small number of large claims carry a big share of the value. HMRC's 2025 release said the merged schemes would first appear in the 2026 publication, and they've reshaped the picture.

HMRC also points to the Additional Information Form (AIF) and other compliance measures as a key driver of the fall in claim volumes. In other words, the compliance changes designed to improve the quality of claims are still working their way through reducing non-compliant claims.

Who is claiming R&D tax credits?

Three sectors still dominate. Manufacturing accounts for 27% of claims and 27% of relief, Information & Communication for 27% of claims and 20% of relief, and Professional, Scientific & Technical for 20% of claims and 24% of relief. Together they make up 75% of claims and 71% of the amount claimed, in line with last year. Five smaller sectors, including Accommodation & Food, Real Estate, and Education, are down by more than 75%, while the three largest sectors have seen some of the smallest declines.

The regional picture is stable too. Companies with a registered office in London made 24% of claims and 30% of the amount claimed, the South East 15% and 19%, and the East of England 10% and 14%. Registered office isn't always where the R&D takes place, so these figures say more about where companies are based than where innovation happens.

Claim size matters more than sector or region. In 2024 to 2025, 58% of claims fell in the cost bands up to £50,000, yet they accounted for only 6% of the relief claimed. At the other end, 6% of claims in the bands from £500,000 upwards accounted for 69% of the total value, up from 62% the year before. Claims over £2m rose 14% in number and 21% in value, which is what pushed the average claim value up.

First-time claimants are the group to watch. The number of first-time applicants has now fallen for five consecutive years. For 2023 to 2024, the latest year with complete data, there were 3,405 first-time applicants in the SME scheme, down 53%, and 1,845 in the RDEC scheme, down 8%.

What do the statistics mean for your business?

Qualifying R&D expenditure rose 7% to £51.0 billion, with large companies up 14% to £30.2 billion and SMEs down 3% to £20.7 billion. HMRC believes the AIF and the wider administrative changes are a key driver of the falling claim numbers, and the amount of R&D expenditure being claimed has kept rising.

The scheme you claim under has changed for many SMEs. If your company isn't loss-making and doesn't meet the R&D intensity condition, you now claim under Merged RDEC. ERIS is only for loss-making R&D intensive SMEs. There's also a change for contracted-out R&D: under Merged RDEC, the company that makes the decisions about the project can claim, which in most cases is the company commissioning the work. SMEs that used to claim as contractors may therefore see smaller or fewer claims. Our guide on how to claim R&D tax credits explains where to start.

HMRC's statistics don't measure error and fraud, so they say nothing about how many claims are challenged. That's covered in HMRC's annual report, where the latest estimate relates to 2023 to 2024. If you'd like to know what to expect if HMRC does look at your claim, see our explainer on HMRC's R&D tax compliance checks.

Finally, the 2024 to 2025 figures are provisional. HMRC revises them each year as late claims arrive, and the next release is planned for autumn 2027. Treat the headline numbers as a strong indication of direction rather than a final count.

How can you make sure your R&D claim is right?

Claims that hold up are the ones backed by evidence recorded as the work happens. Keep a record of the technical challenge, how your team tackled it, and the costs that qualify, and complete the AIF accurately.

Key takeaways

• Relief is up while claims are down. £8.2 billion was claimed across 40,325 claims for 2024 to 2025, up 5% in value and down 17% in number.
• The merged schemes are now the main route. Most companies claim under Merged RDEC, and only loss-making R&D intensive SMEs use ERIS.
• A small share of claims drives the value. 6% of claims account for 69% of the relief claimed.
• New claimants are still declining. First-time applications have fallen for five consecutive years.
• Good records protect your claim. Recording what your team is already doing as it happens takes far less effort than rebuilding the evidence later.

If you're planning an R&D claim, or want help working out which scheme applies to you, get in touch and we'll walk you through it.