Does what I'm doing qualify as R&D for tax purposes?

This is generally one of the most difficult areas for companies to judge. It's particularly important that the people doing the work are involved in considering whether it's R&D for tax purposes, as they are the ones who understand best the scientific or technological problems involved.

The first step is to read the DTI guidelines, available at CIRD81900. The first couple of pages set out the basic tests, and then concepts are developed in more detail later in the guidelines.

To help you identify the extent of qualifying R&D you are doing, a summary of some key questions to ask is one of the tools in this guidance - Tool A 'How to show the project is R&D within the tax definition'.