What is the Additional Information Form?

From April 2023, HMRC have introduced a variety of measures to both 'tighten' and improve the R&D tax relief scheme, ranging from adjusted tax rates to additional qualifying costs and exclusions.

One of these measures is the Additional Information Form.

These measures are designed to improve the existing R&D tax relief scheme, encouraging claimants to provide stronger information in their claim and therefore, creating a more robust, compliant system.

What is the Additional Information Form?

Essentially, this form is a replacement of the R&D claim report. Previously, the claim reports were attached alongside the amended CT600 (tax return). Now, a claim report isn't required but it certainly helps to strengthen the claim. Consequently, this could reduce the chance of receiving a HMRC enquiry.

However, HMRC has made it compulsory for all claimants to submit this form prior to filing the CT600. Any claims that haven't done this will now be rejected, so it is more important than ever to get this right.

How does it work?

Rather than attaching the claim report to your CT600, the Additional Information Form will need to be completed online, with submission being sent directly to HMRC's systems. This needs to be done before you submit your CT600.

What do I need to provide?

This form will require some additional information that was not needed before, so it is important to familiarise yourself with what's required beforehand.

HMRC now require the following:

• Contact details of the main senior internal R&D contact in the company who is responsible for the R&D claim.
• Contact details of any agent involved in the R&D claim.
• VAT registration number.
• Employer PAYE reference number.
• Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).
• Identification of business type, for example, your current SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code.
• A list of the total amount of R&D projects in the claim period, even if not all projects require a full write up.
• Project narratives write up, based on set questions in the form.
• A breakdown of direct and indirect qualifying R&D activities.
• A breakdown of the R&D costs allocated to each R&D project.
  
  

On the EmpowerRD platform, these requirements have been reflected in some additional sections:

• Project Selection: this section will help you to add your projects, validate them and determine which projects you need to write about. You will need to complete this before you can start the 'Projects' section. Not sure how to complete this section? You can find out more here.
• Allocate Costs to Projects: here, you will need to confirm which projects are associated with each cost. You will need to allocate a percentage of time spent on the assigned project for each cost.  This is in accordance with the Additional Information Form, where you now need to provide a breakdown of costs per project.

In addition to the above sections, we have also made some changes to existing sections:

• Finance Documents: For EmpowerRD submissions, you will just need to provide us with your CT600 (tax return), tax computations and full company accounts. However, if you submit the claim yourself, we would also need these to ensure that the figures reconcile. If you do not have your finalised tax documents yet, you can upload your drafts.
  
  
• Compliance: You will now need to provide us with the details of your agent; this is the main contact that worked on your R&D claim. If you chose an EmpowerRD submission, you should confirm EmpowerRD's details.
  
  You will also need to provide your senior officer's or internal R&D contact's information; this should be the main contact at your company who is responsible for the R&D work.
  
  Lastly, you may need to confirm your main agent's details. This could be an external accountant who works on your company's taxes.
  
  
• Time Spent on R&D: Once you have finalised the 'Projects' section, a column titled 'R&D Projects' will appear next to your cost items and percentages. You will just need to select the project/s that your costs and percentages relate to; this helps us to provide a more accurate breakdown of the costs associated with each project.
  
  
• Project Selection: Before you can complete the 'Projects' section, you will now need to complete 'Project Selection'. This section is designed to qualify your projects and determines which projects you need to write about in full, as per HMRC's rules.
  
  

• Assigning Costs to Projects: If you have more than one project that you have written about in full (as outlined in 'Project Selection'), you will now need to allocate which costs belong to which project. This ensures that we have a complete breakdown of your total qualifying expenditure for each project.

HMRC now also requires you to provide a breakdown of your qualifying direct and indirect activities; these are essentially the types of activities that were performed during your projects. The platform will automatically try to assign a type of activity to your costs, dependent on the job titles. However, you will still be able to adjust these if you need to.


Question not answered?

Contact us via email at claims@empowerrd.com or alternatively, message us via live chat.