In this 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 week it’s the turn of Northern Irish (NI) ERIS claims. We’ll explain how these differ from ERIS claims, why you need to know about this and how it affects claim preparation. (We know, we know – you were expecting the series to be done after part 5’s update on subsidies and subcontracted R&D, but updates never rest. And, as the R&D tax landscape keeps us on our toes, we’re here to keep you informed of the latest developments.
There are two key differences between ERIS and NI ERIS claims – under the NI provisions, claimant companies are not subject to the overseas restrictions but are subject to the restrictions on de minimis aid. Currently companies cannot receive more than €300,000 in de minimis aid over a three-year period (this is lower for certain industries).
Other than these differences the rules around eligibility, qualifying costs and R&D intensive criteria are the same for both ERIS and NI ERIS.
In terms of gathering the data about the claim and calculating the eligible expenditure, the process is the same for both ERIS and NI ERIS. For subcontractor and EPW costs it’s still vital to gather data on whether they might be subject to the overseas restrictions and any exemptions as you need to be able to calculate the difference in benefit between NI ERIS, which would include overseas costs, and RDEC, which would exclude the overseas costs.
However, once the project details have been gathered and the qualifying costs calculated, the ERIS and NI ERIS schemes diverge, with the requirement to calculate whether the claim is affected by the de minimise aid cap.
To calculate whether a NI ERIS claim will breach the cap, claimants must add together the following:
Once this figure has been calculated the amount of NI ERIS benefit that can be claimed, and, for claims that breach the cap, the remaining amount of qualifying expenditure that can be claimed through RDEC, must be calculated. The claim can then be submitted.
To fill out the AIF, you need the following information about Northern Irish companies:
The AIF is not fully set up to gather all the information the HMRC may require, so until the AIF is updated HMRC have stated that they will contact companies directly to gather the remaining information.
Northern Irish companies that meet the NI ERIS criteria can choose how to claim, with some restrictions. The things that need to be considered are:
The choice to claim through RDEC, ERIS or NI ERIS must be made on a case-by-case basis, considering the make-up of the qualifying expenditure, the company’s ability to opt out of the NI Provisions and the tax benefit available to the company through each scheme.
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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