Ensure your innovative startup is eligible for R&D tax credits

The government’s R&D tax credits scheme could be an effective launchpad for your innovative new business. And in today’s hyper-competitive world, this could make all the difference. This is how to use the government’s R&D tax credits scheme to benefit your business.

Innovation is one of the few ways a startup can truly stand out from the crowd. Clever products, better techniques, smarter delivery and unique services can all provide a useful edge over experienced, well-funded rivals.

Take Silicon Valley, where a combination of innovation and risk-taking has helped companies extend their reach around the globe. To stake a claim in their industry before well-funded competitors soak up the market share, British startups must adopt a similar mindset.

The UK government knows only too well that innovation helps local startups survive. It has, since 2000, directly incentivised innovation in the British economy through specialised tax credits.

The government’s R&D tax credits scheme is far from complicated. However, lack of awareness and a number of misconceptions mean many businesses haven’t sought claims under the program.

If you’re the founder of a startup, it’s definitely worth taking a closer look at how the scheme can benefit your company. UK SMEs are able to claim 230% of eligible R&D costs in tax credits.

These credits can help offset the corporate tax small business owners pay each financial year. What’s more, even companies making a loss can claim 14.5% of “surrenderable” losses so as to offset tax liabilities.

How Prosper can help

Prosper² is keen to ensure its members maximise their R&D tax entitlements. We have therefore introduced a service for members to determine whether their businesses are eligible to claim under R&D tax criteria.

You can find the Research & Development Tax Credits Eligibility Assessment in the Reports section of the Service Hub. Click here to find out more.

The full version of this article was originally published on Real Business. Read the original article here.