Your Specialist R&D Tax Credit Advisors

Proudly advising for over 26 years
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A firm of accountants with a specialist team of R&D tax credit advisors based in the UK

Devonports is regulated by the Institute Of Financial Accountants and have been in the business of assisting micro, small and medium enterprises for over 26 years.

Click here to visit our group page at www.devonports.co.uk

We have successfully prepared and submitted claims for clients in various sectors resulting in many successful claims, with the average client receiving in excess of £25,000 of relief.

The Team

I enjoy keeping busy and, in particular, being able to look after and advise my varied client base, which includes small micro businesses to medium size clients, especially in this ever-changing world of compliance and tax changes. I make sure that clients are both fully informed and compliant, and that they take advantage of the tax breaks that are available to them. My friendly manner ensures that the fear factor is removed for clients. Indeed, most comment that I am unlike any other accountant that they have ever met.
Ian Hornsey
Director
Having joined Devonports in July 2014, I was made a director in March 2018. I now have amassed over 12 years of experience in practice having started my career when I left college in 2006. I gained my ACCA qualification in 2012 and obtained my practising certificate in 2014. I am committed to the profession and enjoy all aspects, from the basics to the very technical, as well as helping clients on a day to day basis with their business needs.
Robert Watts
Director
I am a Chartered Accountant with strong strategic financial and commercial background. I have held various board level roles including – COO, Finance Director and Operations Director. My vast experience covers a range of sectors including Professional Services, Technology, Shipping, Recycling, Education and the innovation space- specifically specialising in Research and Development tax credits. Many businesses undertake significant R&D activity without even realising they qualify. We regularly get clients £000s in R&D tax credit repayments.
Steve Collins
R&D Specialist
My accountancy career started in 2006, where I gained experience working in practice whilst studying for ACCA. Since qualifying in 2011, I have worked in both industry and practice. I have vast knowledge in accounts, bookkeeping, VAT, CIS and payroll for small and medium companies as well as personal tax for individuals, in various business sectors.
Jennifer Donovan
R&D Tax Accountant
I joined Devonports as an apprentice in September 2020. I am currently studying AAT Level 2 Bookkeeping Controls and working towards my AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting qualification. I have previously achieved my AAT Level 2 Bookkeeping Transactions.
Matthew Last
Researcher

Our Guide To R&D

The government introduced Research and development (R&D) tax credits as an incentive to businesses, and is designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation. They are an essential tax planning tool to either reduce your tax liabilities or obtain a cash injection into your business, even if you are a loss making company

For every £10,000 spent on R&D, you can currently claim a tax refund of between 24.7% up to 33.35%, dependent on whether the company is profitable or lossmaking.

If this is the first time of making a claim, then potentially you can claim the R&D for the last two completed accounting periods, giving you a cash investment into your business to drive the business forward.

R&D tax credits can be claimed by UK Trading Companies operating in a diverse range of industries, in fact in almost every industry it is likely there will be R&D

At Devonports R&D we have R & D tax credit expertise to advise you having worked across many industries. We will help you to determine whether you will qualify for R & D tax credits and will then prepare all the necessary calculations / technical filings, as part of the service we provide.

An example of sectors covered include cyber security, software development, agriculture, manufacturing, facilities management, construction, recycling as well as many more.

A wide array of costs qualify for R&D expenditure.

The main categories fall under the headings below. At Devonports we will support you in determining exactly which costs and projects qualify. We will then complete the technical filings necessary to support your claim:

  • Director and staff remuneration
  • Subcontractors
  • Consumables utilised in the R&D project
  • Prototypes, or first of class cost
  • Utilities
  • Testing

The UK government’s R&D tax credit regime is designed to support a wide range of industries, with strict guidelines on qualifying activities.

The relief is available if your company is basically taking a risk, trying to overcome a challenge, which is by attempting to ‘resolve scientific or technological uncertainties’. We will support you in determining if you may be carrying out R&D qualifying activity.

For example:

  • Creating new products, processes or services
  • Changing or modifying an existing product, process or service.
  • Developing your own software or overcoming technological uncertainty

The Checklist

Are you a UK trading limited company and fall into any of the following:
Do you feel that your business has made any advance in science and/or technology?
Have you developed any product, process, system, or software that puts you at the forefront of your industry?
Do you design, manufacture, or create anything?
Are you using existing technology in a new way for example merging them to develop a new product or process. Do you believe this is new to your industry and has a noticeable edge?
Have you developed your own software or developed MVP’s, POCs or unique algorithms?
Have you undertaken sought to further develop or improve processes which have clear benefits including but not limited to lower production time/costs, improve scalability, improved efficiency?
Have you improved your business operations to benefit the environment i.e. recycling, lowering energy consumption, reducing carbon footprint and efficiency?
Do you use any subcontractors to carry out design, manufacturing adaption, scientific or technological development?
Have you or do you intend to file filed any patents, or intellectual property protection?
Have you developed any APIs, integrated existing ones into your system, or written complex algorithms?
Have you made any improvements to an existing operation or application which has quantifiable benefits, for example to performance, processing or functionality?
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We work on a contingent fee basis, so we don’t get paid unless you receive the tax credit.

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