Agricultural Companies Missing Out On Tens of Thousands of Pounds

Agricultural companies in the UK continue to miss out on tens of thousands of pounds of Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits, according to the latest figures released by HMRC.

The statistics show that despite R&D Tax Credits aiming to drive innovation, agricultural firms’ R&D claims continue to fall behind other sectors with companies claiming a total amount of £5m in 2016.

The analysis indicates a positive trend for agricultural firms with an increase of 29 per cent in the number of claims since 2015, compared to the average for all sectors of 25 per cent. 

However, it is still significantly below other sectors such as Manufacturing which secured £860m in R&D tax claims and Professional, Scientific & Technical which claimed back £635m. Furthermore, the average received per R&D tax claim by agricultural companies was only £37,000.

Overall, agriculture accounted for just 0.5 per cent of total claims and 0.2 per cent of the total tax benefits claimed.

This provides evidence that many agricultural companies continue to miss out on this valuable tax relief initiative.  As one of the UK’s leading R&D Tax Credit specialist firms we believe this is due to a number of reasons. These include a lack of awareness and not understanding which activities and costs qualify for this purpose. 

Momentum Group Managing Director, Tom Verner, commented: “One of the biggest issues with agricultural companies claiming their full R&D tax relief, is that many believe R&D Tax Credits are only available for traditional research sectors and ‘white coat’ industries.

“Interestingly, the statistics show that SMEs are driving the growth in claims, accounting for 81% of agricultural companies’ total R&D Tax Credit claims. This is positive for SMEs operating in agriculture which need all the help they can get. As one of the UK’s leading companies specialising solely in R&D Tax Credits, Momentum partners with agricultural firms of all sizes to ensure they claim what they are legitimately entitled to.” he continued.

Tom added: “These claims are so important in encouraging companies to innovate and by not taking advantage of this available tax relief, agricultural firms risk stagnating their growth and restricting their competitiveness which effectively holds back the UK economy. Relief can be in the form of cash, or a reduction in corporation tax liability.”

At Momentum we have been working hard to raise awareness of R&D Tax Credits amongst companies in every sector. We are working successfully with leading accountants, banks and financial institutions and many others across the UK to raise the profile of this generous tax relief.

We continue to call on all agricultural businesses and their accountants to take action this year to explore this valuable incentive.

To find out more about R&D Tax Credits contact Momentum on 028 9140 4030 or send an email to taxcredits@momentumni.com