A Claim Notification form must be submitted by companies that intend to claim Research and Development (R&D) tax relief in the UK.
The R&D Claim Notification form was introduced on April 1, 2023, and serves as a notification to HMRC that your company intends to or is actively making an R&D claim. This form must be submitted within six months of the end of your accounting period, providing key details about your company, the claim, and the R&D projects involved.
This article covers everything you need to know about Claim Notification forms, including who is required to submit one, the deadlines, and the necessary information required.
In this article:
Does my company need to submit a Claim Notification?
From 1 April 2023, a number of reforms were made to R&D tax credits, including several measures to prevent abuse of the scheme. One of these is the requirement to submit a Claim Notification for your R&D tax credit claim to be valid.
You’ll need to submit a Claim Notification if you fall into one of the following four groups:
- Companies planning to submit R&D tax claims for the first time.
- Companies that haven’t submitted an R&D claim in over 3 years.
- Companies that have amended a previous tax return to claim R&D relief for an accounting period before 1 April 2023 and the amendment was made on or after 1 April 2023.
- HMRC previously rejected an R&D claim you made.
Amendments to tax returns: A crucial detail
Let’s take a closer look at the requirement for amended tax returns. While submitting an original tax return within the 3-year window is generally sufficient, you still need to submit a Claim Notification if you also amended a previous return to include an R&D claim under certain conditions.
If you made an amended tax return on or after 1 April 2023, to claim R&D relief for an accounting period that started before 1 April 2023, you must submit a Claim Notification form, even if you have submitted an original return within the 3-year window.
Example:
Let’s say your accounting period ended on 31 December 2022. You submitted your original tax return on time, but later realised you missed an R&D claim. On 1 May 2023, you amended your return to include the claim. Even though you filed your original return within the 3-year window, you still need to submit a Claim Notification form because the amendment was made after the new rules came into effect.
When will I need to submit a Claim Notification?
For accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2023, companies must submit a Claim Notification form for their R&D claim to be valid.
The earliest date that you can submit a Claim Notification form is on the first day of your accounting period.
The deadline for submitting a Claim Notification is 6 months after the end of your accounting period. However, if you submit your finished R&D claim before this 6-month deadline, it isn’t necessary to submit a Claim Notification form as well.
What information do I need to provide for my Claim Notification to be valid?
For your Claim Notification to be valid, you must provide:
- The company’s Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number must be correct and correlate with that on your CT600.
- Contact details of the main internal R&D contact at the company – this is the person from the business responsible for the claim.
- Contact details of any agent involved in the R&D claim.
- The agent reference number (if you have one).
- The period of accounting start and end dates, which must correlate with your tax computations.
- Start and end dates of the accounting period you’re claiming R&D for only – again; this must be correct and align with that on the CT600
- A high-level summary of planned R&D projects.
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