R&D Tax Relief: Pre-notification may be required

If your company plans to claim Research & Development (R&D) tax relief, HMRC may now require you to pre-notify them of your intention.

This rule applies if you have not made a “valid”  R&D claim in the last three years. The notification must be submitted to HMRC within six months of the end of your period of accounts.

Missing this deadline will mean you are not eligible to claim R&D relief for that accounting period. There is no legislative recourse or statutory right of appeal, so it is essential to act in time.

Does this apply to you?

The window for submitting a “valid” claim starts two years and six months prior to the end of your period of accounts and ends six months after the period of accounts ends.

Pre-notification is required if:

• You have not submitted any R&D claim within the window; or
• If you have submitted a claim in that window, HMRC has rejected your claim; or
• The only R&D claim in that window was for an accounting period beginning  before 1 April 2023 which was only included via an amended corporation tax return filed on or after 1 April 2023.

Upcoming deadlines

You must notify HMRC within 6 months of your period of accounts end. For example:

• 31 December 2025  – for companies with a  30 June 2025 year-end

Example

For a company with a  30 June 2025 year-end:

• If a valid R&D claim was made for the year ending  30 June 2024, no pre-notification is required for 2025.
• If no claim has been made since 1 January 2023, then you must notify HMRC by  31 December 2025  in order to claim for the year ending  30 June 2025.
• If an R&D claim was made for the year ending  30 June 2023, but it was  submitted as an amendment, you must still notify.

Missed the pre-notification deadline? CIOT wants to hear from you

HMRC requires pre-notification for companies planning to claim R&D tax relief if no valid claim has been made in the three year window. Missing this deadline can put your claim at risk.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is interested in hearing from businesses that have missed their pre-notification deadline. This is particularly relevant for companies with accounting periods ending between 8 March 2024 and 31 May 2024 that did not submit the required notification in time.

If your company missed the deadline but believes it qualifies for R&D tax relief, HMRC has introduced a process allowing affected companies to submit claims even if pre-notification was not filed, provided certain conditions are met. CIOT is gathering information to understand the impact of these missed notifications on businesses and to help ensure companies are aware of their options.

For companies in this situation, it is recommended to:

• Contact HMRC's R&D Policy team with the subject line “CIRD183000 notification”.
• Include company details and information about your amended return and accounting period.

Our specialist R&D tax relief team can guide you through this process, review your claim, and ensure all documentation is prepared correctly to maximise your chance of a successful submission.

Other points to consider

Invalid or Disallowed Claims

You may have ‘made’ a claim; however, if HMRC has removed this claim from your tax return either through the enquiry process,the  Fraud Investigation Service  or for any other reason by virtue of Schedule 18, Paragraph 16 of the Finance Act 1998 this will not count as a valid claim. Pre-notification will be required unless there is another valid claim within the window.

Protective Pre-Notification (PCN)

If someone is in an enquiry, we recommend a ‘protective’ PCN. If, down the line, a claim is removed and no PCN was submitted, the company may have passed their 6-month window to file one. There is currently no legislative recourse to then claim relief for that period.

Group Companies

Groups are viewed as individual entities. A valid claim in one company cannot be used to cover another in determining whether PCN is required. This is particularly important during M&A activity.

Updated HMRC Guidance

HMRC has recognised its initial guidance was incorrect. Companies with March, April or May 2024 period ends may still be eligible to claim relief, if they submitted an amended return post 1 April 2023.

We are here to help

If you require any assistance with understanding where pre-notification is required and how to process or R&D tax relief generally, please get in touch with  a member of our specialist R&D tax relief team.