Making the claim

Claims for R&D tax relief and payable tax credits are normally made by entering the claim on the annual Corporation Tax return form (CT600) which is sent to your company. The form will show the address of the tax office it should be returned to and a contact number if you have any queries on completing it.

The claim template (Tool B (EXCEL 50K)) indicates the boxes on the return that should be completed.

Although not a legal requirement, HMRC encourages companies to submit high-level information showing:

• why the company considers its projects to be R&D within the definition for tax purposes, and
• a summary of the costs incurred on the R&D and how the figures in the return were arrived at.

The R&D (Tool A) and claim (Tool B) templates in this guidance are ideal for this purpose. If answers to the questions in Tool A and the calculations in Tool B are forwarded with the Corporation Tax return form, HMRC will be in a better position to consider your claim.

When your return is sent in, it is subject to a risk assessment by HMRC to determine whether an enquiry should be opened into the return. Using these tools can help to make an enquiry less likely.

All information supplied by you to HMRC is protected by confidentiality and will not be improperly disclosed.