London has seen another significant rise in R&D (research and development) tax credit claims, according to statistics released today by HMRC. Businesses in the capital have secured 29% of the £5.3bn of R&D tax relief support claimed nationwide, which has stimulated more than £35bn of innovation-focused expenditure by British firms.
The latest 2018-19 figures show London companies made a total of 11,820 claims, up from 9,675 made that this time last year. There were 10,190 successful R&D tax relief claims made by SMEs in the city region as well as additional claims secured through the RDEC scheme. This amounted to more than £1.5bn in R&D tax relief being secured by London-based businesses. Overall there were 59,265 R&D tax credit claims made across the UK in the 2018-19 period
London companies also secured £510m 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 £992m in Patent Box tax breaks in 2018-19.
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 66% of claims and 71% of the total amount claimed in 2018-19.
Scott Henderson, CEO of ABGI UK said, “London businesses continue to lead in terms of R&D tax relief claims. We’ve seen another rise in successful claims being made compared to the same period in 2017-18, highlighting a high level of innovation across the capital’s business community. This investment could prove crucial as the UK faces significant economic challenges going forward.
“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 ensure 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 £33.3bn in tax relief claimed.
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