Recognition
You're not sure if the work you've already done counts
In our experience, most companies underclaim rather than overclaim, because they assume R&D means a dedicated lab team when most qualifying work happens inside normal delivery.
Why it happens
The bar is technical uncertainty, not novelty to the world
Did your team have to genuinely work out how to do something, rather than just look it up, without knowing in advance whether it would work? That usually clears the bar. It applies well beyond software and manufacturing: process changes, material substitutions, and internal tooling built to solve a real problem all show up in real claims.
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). Miss that window and the claim can't be made for that period, regardless of how strong it is.
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 the Finance Act 2026, Part 7 (Schedule 20 sets out the exemptions to it, not the requirement itself). 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.
