2017 HMRC R&D tax credit statistics

HM Revenue and Customs have published the latest statistics for R&D Tax Credits for the 2015-16 financial year.

Once again there has been an overall increase in the number of tax relief claims submitted, as well as in the overall total amount of relief claimed. The total number of claims in the 2015-16 period was 26,255, an increase of 19% from 2014-15. In particular the number of claims under the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) scheme increased from 17,875 in 2014-15 to 21,865 in 2015-16, an increase of 22%. HMRC reports that the number of Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) claims rose by 13% in 2015-16, as companies continued to switch over from the large company scheme. Claims under the RDEC scheme rose to £1.4 billion, while £1.3 billion was claimed through the SME scheme.

As in previous years, the industry sectors with the largest number of claims were ‘Manufacturing’, ‘Professional, Scientific and Technical’, and ‘Information and Communication’, and the regions with the most claims were once again London, the South East and the East of England. The total amount claimed in 2015-16 was £2.9 billion, a rise of 20% compared to the previous year. Since the scheme was introduced in 2001, there have been over 170,000 claims with a cumulative value of £16.5 billion.

R&D Tax Credits are a powerful way of supporting innovation in the UK economy and are extremely beneficial to companies of all sizes, particularly smaller enterprises, where cash flow can be a critical issue.

R&D Tax Credits can help companies grow and can boost employment in the economy as a whole,” said Barrie. “The continuing increase in the number and value of R&D Tax Credit claims is a welcome development, but we believe that there are still thousands of companies that aren’t claiming what they are entitled to, mainly because they are not well-informed about the scheme. It’s our mission to reach out to those companies and help them benefit from this valuable government incentive.

Barrie Dowsett, Chief Executive Officer, Myriad Associates

About Myriad Associates

Myriad Associates are leading experts in helping businesses maximise public funding for their research and development activities through R&D Grants and R&D Tax Credits. If you would like to discuss any aspect of R&D grant funding or R&D tax relief please contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We look forward to hearing from you.