Whatever your business, you might be eligible to claim more tax incentives than you currently do. Sometimes tax incentives are available on things you might consider to be mundane in your business, so it would be wrong to assume that your business won’t qualify.
Here is a list of the most common incentives you could be missing out on:
Research and Development
You might think this would only apply to companies with multi-million pound research operations, but this is often not the case. As long as your business researches or develops new processes, products or services in science or technology, you might be eligible.
SMEs with less than 500 staff and a turnover of under €100m or a balance sheet total under €86m can be eligible for R&D tax relief. If you qualify, you can deduct an extra 130% of your qualifying costs from your yearly profit, as well as the normal 100% deduction, to make an overall 230% deduction. As well as this, you can claim a tax credit if your company is loss making. This is worth up to 14.5% of surrenderable loss.
Annual Investment Allowance
You can get tax relief on the plant and machinery you purchase in the year before you purchase them. If you’re eligible, relief will be on 100% of the cost. You can also claim on the demolition cost and alterations to plant and machinery. It’s important to note that this tax relief doesn’t apply to repairs.
In his recent Budget, Philip Hammond announced the annual investment allowance has increased from £200,000 to £1 million. This comes into effect on January 1 2019 and is aimed at preventing investments in British businesses stagnating because of Brexit.
Tax relief on green equipment
In order to encourage businesses to be greener, the government’s Energy Technology List (ETL) and Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECA) offer relief on high-performance energy efficient equipment. Products on the ETL deliver a high standard of efficiency, defined as performing within the top 25% of all similar equipment available in the UK market. ECA lets you claim 100% capital allowance on products on the ETL.
Employment Allowance
Employers can get up to £3,000 a year off their National Insurance bill. The allowance will reduce your (secondary) Class 1 National Insurance payments each time you run your payroll until the £3,000 has gone or April, when the tax year ends (whichever is sooner).
Speaking to a qualified accountant will give you your best bet of finding what relief applies to you. Often the processes for claiming aren’t very transparent, so getting some expert help is recommended.
