More than half of small business owners are unaware of the R&D tax relief scheme and how it could benefit their business.

Research by Catax estimates that 57% of small businesses could be eligible to claim tax relief under current rules.

SMEs that carry out eligible R&D work can deduct 230% of eligible R&D costs from total their profits.

For every £100 of eligible R&D costs, £230 is deducted from company profits or added to trading losses for tax purposes.

Further findings:

• 44% thought that the scheme was only restricted to businesses in the science, drug and technology sectors
• 43% thought that eligible R&D activity had to be successful for a claim to be made

Mark Tighe, CEO at Catax, said:

“In reality, a restaurant creating a new recipe, a brewery experimenting with a new pint or a business trying to streamline its IT with some proprietary cloud technology could all be eligible for tax relief.

“The ‘people in white coats’ myth urgently needs to be debunked because currently SMEs are losing out not just financially but strategically: R&D can put them one step ahead of the competition, both at home and overseas.”

Contact us today to discuss whether your business can take advantage of R&D tax relief.