R&D tax relief
R&D claim services: what actually happens
Preparing and filing an R&D tax relief claim is a specific, structured process: a technical narrative, a cost identification exercise, and a submission through your Company Tax Return, not just a form. It fits companies that have already spent money solving a genuine technical problem and haven't claimed for it, or aren't sure whether their work counts.
Recognition
You're not sure if the work you've already done counts
Qualifying work doesn't have to come from a dedicated lab team. It can happen inside normal delivery, as long as it meets HMRC's test below.
Why it happens
The bar is an advance in the field, not just for your company
HMRC's test is whether the project sought "an advance in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology (not a company’s own state of knowledge or capability alone)", and resolved an uncertainty that a competent professional working in the field couldn't readily resolve (HMRC, guidelines on the meaning of R&D). Having to work something out that your own team didn't know isn't enough by itself. Before you prepare a claim, ask whether someone competent in that field could already have told you the answer, or worked it out without much difficulty.
Where this fits
The claims process, distinct from advance funding
This page covers preparing and filing a claim. If a claim already exists and you need the cash before HMRC pays out, that's a different, adjacent question covered on R&D advance funding.
Specialist insight
What preparing a claim actually involves
A claim isn't a single form. It's a technical narrative explaining what the uncertainty was and how it was resolved, a cost identification exercise working out which staff time, subcontractor costs, consumables and software genuinely relate to the qualifying work, and a submission through your Company Tax Return supported by the Additional Information Form HMRC now requires on every claim.
Before you can claim at all
Notification requirements
Some companies, generally first-time claimants or those who haven't claimed in the last three years, must notify HMRC of their intention to claim within six months of the end of the accounting period (see gov.uk guidance on the claim notification requirement). HMRC's guidance says that if the notification isn't made within that period, "your R&D tax relief claim will be invalid", however strong the work is.
A change HMRC has announced: HMRC's claim notification guidance, updated on 29 October 2026, says: "You do not need to submit a claim notification form for claims made on or after 1 April 2027" (GOV.UK). HMRC's policy paper says the change will be made through the Finance Bill (HMRC, 28 October 2026). For claims made before 1 April 2027, the notification rules on this page still apply. If you're not sure whether the change affects your claim, check with your adviser.
Decision helper
Something that catches businesses out: the notification deadline trips up established, well-run companies more than start-ups, because start-ups tend to be told about it early by an accountant setting things up from scratch. A company that's been trading ten years and simply never claimed before has often never had the six-month window flagged to them at all.
Choosing an adviser? Advisers who interact with HMRC on a client's behalf now fall under a formal registration requirement under section 223 of the Finance Act 2026 (Part 7): an unregistered adviser may not interact with HMRC unless an exception in Schedule 20 applies. Before instructing anyone, it's worth confirming their registration status directly with HMRC rather than assuming it from their marketing.
Alternatives and limitations
If the real need is cash flow
If the actual need is cash flow rather than the claim itself, don't wait for the claim to be filed before addressing it. See Invoice Finance or Credit Lines depending on the shape of the gap.
Talk it through
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What happens next
- We read it. A sentence or two is enough to start.
- If we can help, we may introduce you to a provider.
- No charge and no obligation at any point. You decide whether to go further.
Adam Parker
Founder of Muswell Rose Consulting Ltd, which trades as Established Finance · Managing Director of Penny, an invoice finance business, from July 2020 to November 2023, and working in mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending since 2010 (career history; career record).
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Practical questions
Before you get in touch
What information do I need?
To start, just a description of what’s actually happening in the business. If it progresses, the provider will ask for the usual things: recent accounts, a sense of turnover and trading history, and details of the specific need.