HMRC has just published the latest statistics on R&D tax relief claims for the 2013/14 year. I’m not proposing to try and analyse them in detail but there are a couple of interesting points that stand out for me.

SME Claims

Once again, it is SMEs that are leading the growth in the number of claims made. What really stands out with the SME claims, however, is the growth in the number of payable credit claims. These have more than doubled from the 2012/13 level. Looking also at the value of the relief, I suspect that this may be due in part to a growth in smaller value claims, possibly as a consequence of the removal in 2012 of the de minimis spend requirement.

R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC)

2013/14 is the first period for which RDEC claims could be made. Whilst there was clearly a move by some companies to switch from the super deduction relief to the RDEC, it also looks very much as though a number of large companies decided that the RDEC made it beneficial for them to start claiming relief. It is impossible to be sure from the published statistics but this is likely to be because they are now taking advantage of the RDEC’s payable credit option.

Overall, it is good to see that R&D relief continues to grow in popularity as more companies come to realise its value.