Although awareness of R&D tax relief is continuing to grow in the market, there is still a large number of organisations investing in innovation or technological problem-solving that are not wise to the fact they can make successful claims. Former electronics engineer Eyad Hamouieh, now a partner at Moore Stephens’ Innovation and Tech Group, which has helped businesses claim more than £250 million since the relief began, says businesses are missing out.
“It is very rare for us to come across a company that is paying for a CAD software license such as SOLIDWORKS, that will not qualify for R&D tax credit. For example, anyone working with aerodynamics, thermo dynamics simulations, stress force analysis, load testing, electronic testing – all these are actions where they need CAD software and can indicate the presence of qualifying activities eligible for the relief,” he says.
HMRC definition does not disallow what engineers do on a day-to-day basis from being deemed as R&D, as long as new knowledge is sought. Currently the rates have been increased so SMEs can claim tax relief of up to 33 per cent of what they spend on R&D. Eyad adds: “Even SME businesses receiving grants or being contracted by large businesses are treated like a large business, so with these changes in the rules, small businesses can still get a cash injection of up to 11 per cent.”
Chris Horn, Managing Director at NT CADCAM says: “3D CAD solutions are all about freeing up a designer or engineer’s time so they can get on with the job of innovating. On a day-to-day basis, engineers and designers are using CAD solutions that will improve their product - whether it’s considering different material thickness, speciality tooling or testing prototypes - these decisions, tests and new processes are in themselves R&D.”
For more information visit ntcadcam.co.uk
