Review of R&D tax reliefs

At the Budget, the Government published a broad consultation on R&D tax reliefs.[RM1] 

The announcement reiterated the government’s ambitious target to raise total investment in research and development to 2.4% of UK GDP by 2027, confirming that R&D tax reliefs have a key role in incentivising this investment by reducing the costs of innovation.

The aim of the consultation is to explore the nature of private-sector R&D investment in the UK, how that is supported or otherwise influenced by the R&D relief schemes, and where changes may be appropriate. This is to seek to ensure that the R&D reliefs remain up-to-date, competitive and well-targeted.  

Also mentioned was the consultation last year on bringing data and cloud computing costs into the scope of the reliefs. The decision on whether, and how far, data and cloud computing costs will be brought into the scope of qualifying expenditure will be taken alongside the wider review of R&D tax credits being consulted on. 

The government published the summary of responses document[RM2]  to outline the key messages put across by stakeholders. 

Please can you send any thoughts and comments on this R&D tax reliefs consultation to [email protected] by 14 May 2021.