In our recent series of blogs, we’ve been taking you on a deep dive into the main differences between the SME and RDEC schemes and the new RDEC and ERIS schemes for R&D tax relief, making sure you know what additional information you’ll need to gather to prepare a claim under the new regime.
This time it’s the turn of longer accounting periods. We’ll explain how making claims for longer accounting periods may be more complicated for a short time, and might mean claiming under several different schemes at once.
Where a company has a longer period of account, they are required to prepare a CT600 and AIF for each accounting period within that period of account.
Up until now, it’s been a fairly straightforward process to prepare these claims, with most claimants and advisers being happy to prepare a claim for the entire period of account and then split the costs and projects appropriately across both accounting periods.
Unfortunately, with the introduction of the new RDEC and ERIS schemes, it’s not going to be so easy for a while.
For any period of account that straddles 1st April 2024, and where the second accounting period starts after that date, the first accounting period will have to be claimed under the old SME/RDEC scheme rules, and the second period will be prepared under the new RDEC or ERIS rules.
The rules are sufficiently different under the new and old schemes that it simply won’t be possible to prepare one claim and then split it.
Claims for these longer periods of account will need to be prepared as two separate claims for each accounting period, and the rules applied accordingly. For example, if a non-exempt subcontractor was used on the projects, these costs would be allowable for the first accounting period and not for the second.
Although two AIFs are always needed for longer periods of account, in these situations claimants will need to fill out different AIFs for each period of account, and be aware of the different information required for each.
Happily, no. It will only affect longer periods of account that straddle 1st April 2024. For any longer period of account starting after 1st April 2024 claims for both accounting periods can be prepared using the new RDEC and ERIS rules.
As we wrap up this latest blog in our series (this really is the last post in this series we promise), it’s clear that NI ERIS claims come with unique considerations.
While they share similarities with the broader ERIS scheme, understanding the de minimis aid restrictions and the process for calculating tax benefit will be crucial in making the right claim choice.
If you missed any posts or need a refresher, you can find the full series here
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