The North West of England has seen another rise in R&D (research and development) tax credit claims, according to new statistics released by HMRC.
The latest 2017-18 figures show North West companies made a total of 4,930 claims, up from 4,330 made that this time last year. There were 4,680 successful claims made by SMEs in the region and a further 250 secured by larger companies, amounting to £275m in R&D tax relief secured by businesses across the region.
Overall, North West-based companies secured 10% of the 48,635 R&D tax credit claims made across the UK in the 2017-18 period. A total of £4.3bn of tax relief support was claimed in the period corresponding to £31.3bn of R&D expenditure by British businesses. The HMRC figures are based on partial data for the year with the total number set to increase further as more returns are received.
North West companies also secured £36m in rebates for Patent Box claims, another tax relief incentive available to help firms develop intellectual property (IP) assets. Overall, companies across the UK secured a total of £993m in Patent Box tax breaks in 2017-18.
This year’s R&D tax credit statistics show manufacturing companies along with those in ‘Professional, Scientific and Technical’, and ‘Information and Communication’ sectors continuing to have the greatest volume of claims. The three categories account for a combined total of 68% of claims and 73% of the total amount claimed in 2017-18.
Commenting on the new figures, Scott Henderson, CEO of ABGI UK, said: “North West businesses continue to perform well in generating successful R&D tax relief claims. The region is the third highest in making claims for innovation investment, only behind London and the South East.
“The R&D tax credit scheme has a proven track record in delivering success, driving forward innovation and helping develop more world-class companies across the UK. Going forward we will continue to work with businesses across the region to insure they are securing maximum benefit when they invest in research and development.”
Since the launch of R&D tax credit schemes in 2000, over 300,000 claims have been made and £26.9bn in tax relief claimed.
