Grants haven’t gone away: What our NI ERIS webinar poll revealed

Last week we hosted our webinar “Grants don’t matter anymore… Except when they do: NI ERIS explained”. The purpose was to bring clarity to a less than simple area of the new R&D tax regime – the interaction between grants and NI ERIS.

While we expected questions around de minimis aid and NI ERIS eligibility, a very interesting part of the session came from one of our poll results. The number one concern our audience highlighted was the challenge of gathering accurate grant information from their clients.

This has been a long-standing industry pain point, and despite the introduction of the Merged Scheme, it is clearly still top of mind.

Why grants are still a live issue

Although grants will no longer affect claims made under the Merged or ERIS schemes, we are still in a period of transition with nine different claim pathways currently available. 

This means:

• Around two-thirds of claims being prepared today could still be affected by grant treatment
• Legacy SME and RDEC claims remain in play where grants can directly change the scheme route and benefit received
• NI ERIS, which will apply going forward for certain Northern Irish companies, continues to be subject to de minimis aid limits

In other words, grants haven’t gone anywhere just yet.

Why grant data matters going forward (not just historically)

Under NI ERIS, advisers need to consider not only whether a grant was received but when, how much, and over how many accounting periods. This is because de minimis aid operates over a three-year period, and a grant received today can limit the benefit available in future claims.

Advisers must keep accurate grant data continuously, even if it doesn’t affect the current year’s claim.

One of our polls confirmed this is where firms are struggling the most. Advisers know grants are relevant, but are still facing challenges when it comes to collecting complete and reliable client information.

Scheme selection is now a strategic decision

During our session, we took a few minutes to look at our new NI ERIS product, and walk through the decision points for Northern Irish companies:

• Should a claim be made under NI ERIS (with all overseas spend eligible but subject to de minimis aid limits)?
• Can / should a company opt out and claim under ERIS instead?
• For less hassle, should a company just claim through RDEC?
• Will the client receive a better net benefit through one scheme versus another?

These are not theoretical questions. They must be considered in real time, and advisers must ensure that their decision is backed by compliant reasoning.

How WhisperClaims software supports NI ERIS claim preparation

We demonstrated how WhisperClaims handles this complexity through built-in logic and structured workflows. During the demo we showed how our software:

• Guides users to collect grant information at the right stage
• Identifies when de minimis aid rules apply
• Calculates whether a claim breaches the de minimis cap and automatically routes any remaining expenditure to the correct scheme
• Enables users to test different claim routes to determine the best legitimate outcome for their client, with full transparency and compliance built in
• Generates an AIF-ready output ensuring advisers have everything required for submission under NI ERIS

In short our software does the heavy lifting, so advisers are not left to manually calculate multiple pathways on their own, or risk missing key decision points.

Our webinar takeaways

The key takeaways from our webinar were clear:

• Grant data collection is still one of the biggest challenges advisers face, and it is central to delivering compliant, defensible claims under the NI ERIS scheme
• NI ERIS is not a simplification, it adds another layer of complexity
• Firms that put structured processes in place now will be in the strongest position to support their clients, respond to future HMRC scrutiny and maintain control over claim quality

Watch our webinar on demand

Why not catch up on our webinar, “Grants don’t matter anymore… Except when they do. NI ERIS explained”, where we discussed grants, the NI ERIS scheme, and how to approach NI ERIS claims in practice. 

Watch webinar on demand

Book a demo today to find out how we can support you and your firm.

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