How to Maximise Your R&D Tax Incentive Claim

The high level of audit activity resulting in claimants receiving demands to pay back cash benefits raises concerns for many research and development (R&D) applicants who rely on the program to offset early-stage risk. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reports the highest error rates for R&D claims are made by accountants who lodge less than five claims a year.

With a 43.5% cash refund at stake, you need to be sure you file accurate claims, or risk having to repay the benefits, plus penalties of up to 80%.

To ensure you are maximising benefits and complying with regulations, R&D Tax Incentive experts can offer a second opinion or handle your claim for you.

Self-Assessment Checklist

• Have I understood the intricacies of the program?
• Am I approaching my R&D activities using the scientific method?
• What are eligible core and supporting activities?
• When do eligible R&D activities start and finish?
• How does the dominant purpose test affect my claim?
• What records should I keep to substantiate my claim?

How Ryan Can Help

Undertaking Ryan’s R&D Tax Incentive Health Check is a good starting point to ensure your plans are on track, as you need to know whether your claims are defensible. After a site tour or presentation about the opportunities and challenges facing your business, we address key issues facing firms claiming the R&D Tax Incentive, including:

• Am I claiming eligible R&D activities?
• Am I claiming eligible R&D expenditures?
• What records link eligible R&D activities to the expenditures claimed?
• Does my approach to R&D follow the scientific method?
• What is involved in preparing an R&D claim?
• What records will the ATO or AusIndustry require if selected for an audit?
• Are my claims defensible?

In addition to the R&D Tax Incentive Health Check, our experienced team of R&D tax credit professionals will review your last claim, your record-keeping system, and the results you have achieved to date. You will expand your understanding of the activities that can be claimed and how to capture them on an ongoing basis to bolster compliance.

Our team has created documents to help you get up to speed quickly and satisfy the scheme’s compliance requirements. These include, for example, an R&D Project Plan template for software and engineered products, information sheets on important aspects of claiming the tax incentive, and weekly labour-tracking spreadsheets.

Next Steps

We have more than 30 years of experience as leading R&D tax agents and government grant advisers and look forward to assisting you in maximising your return from the R&D Tax Incentive.

Call us today for a no-obligation chat to discuss our R&D Tax Incentive Health Check and other claim services.