R&D tax credits calculator UK

Are you investing in the development of new products and services? If so, you’re likely eligible for R&D (research and development) tax credits. However, many businesses do not know that they qualify for R&D tax credits, or that you can claim for up to two years prior to the date of your claim. 

Think you could be eligible? Use our simple R&D tax credits calculator to see how much you could receive as a cash refund or to offset your tax liability.

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This calculator and the figures displayed are for illustrative purposes only. Actual eligible claim amounts may differ depending on a number of factors.

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Total enhanced cost

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Eligible for

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Your company is eligible for £- which you can use to offset your tax liability and/or carry forward the loss to the next financial year.

Your company is eligible for a cash refund of £-. Let Swoop help you get these funds as quickly as possible.

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The new R&D tax relief rates

The table below shows how R&D tax relief rates have changed in recent years. The merged scheme applies for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

Company type SME R&D tax incentive RDEC Merged scheme Enhanced R&D intensive support
Before 1 April 2023 After 1 April 2023 Before 1 April 2023 From 1 April 2023 From 1 April 2024 From 1 April 2024
Loss-making SME Up to 33.35% Up to 18.6% 10.5% 15% 16.2%
Profit-making SME Up to 24.7% Up to 21.5% 10.5% Up to 16.2% Up to 16.2%
R&D intensive SME Up to 27% Up to 27%
Large company 10.5% Up to 16.2% Up to 16.2%

Steps to calculate R&D tax credit:

  1. Identify Qualifying Expenditure:

    • Staff costs: Salaries, wages, employer NIC, pension contributions, etc.
    • Software costs: Software directly used in R&D.
    • Consumables: Materials and utilities used up during R&D.
    • Subcontractor costs: Payments to subcontractors for R&D activities.
    • Externally Provided Workers (EPWs): Costs of workers provided by staff providers.
  2. Calculate Enhanced R&D Expenditure:

    • SMEs: Multiply qualifying expenditure by 130% and add this to the original expenditure (incurred before  April 1st 2023).
    • Large companies (using the RDEC scheme): Multiply qualifying expenditure by 13%.
  3. Tax credit calculation:

    • SMEs: If profitable, multiply the enhanced R&D expenditure by the corporation tax rate (19% as of 2023). If loss-making, multiply the enhanced expenditure by 14.5% (credit rate).
    • Large companies (RDEC): Multiply the enhanced expenditure by 13%, then tax this figure at the corporation tax rate (19%).
  4. Determine the benefit:

    • SMEs: The benefit can be a reduction in the corporation tax bill or a payable credit.
    • Large companies (RDEC): This results in either a reduction in the tax payable or a cash credit after tax.

Example calculation for SMEs:

  • Qualifying R&D expenditure: £100,000
  • Enhanced expenditure (incurred before  April 1st 2023): £100,000 + (£100,000 * 130%) = £230,000 
  • Tax saving (profitable company): £230,000 * 19% = £43,700
  • Tax credit (loss-making company): £230,000 * 14.5% = £33,350
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