Apply for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief advance assurance
Find out if you can apply for advance assurance and what you need, before you claim R&D Corporation Tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
If your company is applying for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the first time, it could qualify for advance assurance.
Advance assurance is a voluntary scheme, you can use it as a guarantee that any R&D claim for tax relief will be accepted if it’s in line with what was discussed and agreed in your application.
The advance assurance agreement will be for your first 3 accounting periods only.
Advance assurance does not mean that you have claimed the R&D tax relief. You must still claim using your Company Tax Return.
Read the guidance in the ‘Before you claim R&D tax relief’ section to check what you need to do before you claim.
Who can apply
You can complete the application yourself or your agent can do it for you.
When you can apply
You can apply for advance assurance if you’re a SME and:
- your company has a turnover below £2 million and less than 50 employees
- you’re planning to carry out R&D
- you’ve already carried out R&D and have not claimed SME R&D tax relief
- you’re part of a group, and none of the companies linked to you have previously claimed SME R&D tax relief
When you cannot apply
You cannot apply if:
- this is not your first claim for R&D tax relief
- you’re entered into a Disclosable Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS)
- you’re a corporate serious defaulter
What information you will need
To apply for advance assurance you will need:
- your company accounts
- your company registration documents from Companies House
- any HMRC correspondence relating to your advance assurance application
- previous Company Tax Returns (not needed for new companies)
- the name of a main contact, for example a research manager or company director with direct knowledge of the company’s R&D to discuss the application with HMRC
- to give some basic information about your company
- to give detailed information about your company’s R&D activities and any costs related to those activities
How to apply
You can apply for advance assurance using the online service.
You will need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you use the service.
Other ways to apply
You can either:
- fill in the form online
- download and save it to your computer
Fill in the form online
Follow these steps to fill in the form online.
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Get all of your information together before you start, as you cannot save your progress.
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Print and post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.
This file may not be suitable if you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader). If you need a more accessible format, email different.format@hmrc.gov.uk and tell us what format you need. It will help if you tell us what assistive technology you use. Read the accessibility statement for HMRC forms.
If the form does not open, then contact the online services helpdesk for more help.
Download and fill in the form
Follow these steps to download and fill in the form.
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Download and save the form to your computer.
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Open it using the latest free version of Adobe Reader.
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Complete it on-screen.
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Print and post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.
The form may not work if you try to open it in your internet browser. If the form does not open, contact the online services helpdesk.
Email HMRC to ask for this form in Welsh.
You cannot use this form to make a claim for tax relief or to make changes to an existing tax relief claim.
After you’ve applied
HMRC will contact you by email to arrange a telephone call with your company so that we can talk about your R&D in more detail. This is normally a short telephone call, but it may involve a longer discussion or a visit to your company if the case is more complex.
We will then send you a letter telling you if your application for advance assurance was successful or not.
If you’re given advance assurance
We will send you a letter explaining your company’s responsibilities and what happens if your R&D activities change.
If you’re not given advance assurance
We will send you a letter detailing the reasons why. You will not be able to appeal this decision or re-submit an application for advance assurance, but you can still submit a claim for tax relief in your Company Tax Return.
Before you claim R&D tax relief
You must follow these steps before you claim the tax relief, or your claim may not be valid.
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For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, check if you need to submit a claim notification form to notify HMRC in advance of your claim. Find out what you need to provide when you tell HMRC that you’re planning to claim R&D tax relief.
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From 8 August 2023 you must submit an additional information form to support your claim. Find out how to send the information and what to provide when you submit detailed information before you claim R&D tax relief.
We may contact you after you’ve submitted your first claim for tax relief to check it matches the details in your advance assurance application.
Last updated 21 July 2023 + show all updates
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The information about when your application will be accepted and how long it will be valid for has been clarified. The sections 'When you can apply', ‘When you cannot apply’ and 'What you will need' have been updated. The 'How to apply' section now includes the application form and how to complete it. The mandatory date of ‘1 August 2023’ to submit an additional information form has been changed to ‘8 August 2023’ in ‘Before you claim R&D tax relief’, step 2.
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More information has been added about what you will need to apply for advance assurance and what happens after you’ve applied. A new section has been added to tell you what you need to do before you claim R&D tax relief for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023 and for claims from 1 August 2023.
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The overview on Advance Assurance webinar has been removed.
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A new pre-recorded webinar giving an overview on Advance Assurance has been added to this page.
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First published.