Reliefs that sit alongside R&D tax relief.

They are tax reliefs and incentives that businesses with R&D often meet at the same time as an R&D claim: the Patent Box, grants and subsidies, capital allowances, EIS and SEIS, creative industry credits, full expensing and EMI share options. We specialise in R&D tax relief, so these pages explain the main points and show where each one touches a claim.

No. Each one rewards something different. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, R&D tax relief is the merged scheme, with a taxable 20% credit, or ERIS for eligible loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs. The related reliefs cover profit from patents, capital spending, investor funding, staff incentives and creative production. They usually sit beside a claim, not in place of it.

Start with the one closest to your R&D. For most research-led companies that is the Patent Box if you hold patents, or the grants position if your projects were part-funded. We list the pages in that order. If you have bought equipment, look at capital allowances. If you are raising money or granting options, the later pages are the place to start.

Accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024 fall under the merged scheme and ERIS, which replaced the old SME and RDEC schemes. Some related rules differ by period. For example, HMRC says there is no restriction on subsidised costs under the merged scheme or ERIS, whereas earlier periods had grant-related limits. We always start by confirming the period.

Two sets of limits rose. For EIS, the gross assets test moved to 30 million pounds before and 35 million after a share issue, and the annual and lifetime investment limits increased. For EMI, the gross assets limit rose to 120 million pounds, the employee limit to fewer than 500, and the company-wide option cap to 6 million pounds. Details are on the EIS and SEIS and EMI pages.

Our speciality is R&D tax relief. On the related reliefs we check how they interact with your R&D claim and point you in the right direction. For EIS and SEIS, EMI and creative reliefs, we coordinate with your advisers where appropriate. We can help you consider your options, but we do not claim to be the specialist for every regime on these pages.

We read your project records, cost schedules, accounting periods and any funding or share documents alongside the claim. We look for overlaps, such as capital items sitting in revenue costs or grant terms not reflected in the records. Every claim is reviewed and signed off by a Chartered Tax Adviser, so the question gets a qualified look before anything is filed.

Send your last set of accounts, a list of R&D projects, any patent or licence details, grant offer letters, a list of capital purchases and a note of any fundraising or option plans. You do not need everything perfect. We reply the same working day and tell you what is missing, then we tell you which related reliefs deserve a closer look.

No. We reviewed the pages on 11 October 2026 against gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk, and each page shows when it was last reviewed. The Budget on 28 October 2026 may change reliefs, so check before relying on a figure for a decision. Where we could not verify something on an official source, we left it out.

Each page links to the relevant gov.uk guidance or to legislation.gov.uk. For R&D itself, start with HMRC's guidance on the merged scheme and enhanced R&D intensive support. For the related reliefs, the pages link to the Patent Box guidance, the Capital Allowances Manual, the venture capital schemes pages, the EMI page and the creative industry reliefs page.

Under the older SME scheme, for periods beginning before 1 April 2024, a company got an 86% extra deduction, with a payable credit of 10% or 14.5% if R&D-intensive. The merged scheme gives a taxable 20% credit, and ERIS keeps the 86% deduction and 14.5% payable credit for eligible loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs. Which applies depends on the period and the company.

Our R&D benefit calculator gives a first estimate of the R&D side. The related reliefs depend on your own facts, so use the calculator as a starting point and speak to us about the rest. The estimate is not a promise of any amount, and the actual benefit depends on your qualifying costs and your tax position.

Often a company has both in the same period. For periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, subsidised costs are not restricted under the merged scheme or ERIS. The Patent Box has its own conditions. We check the two sets of figures against each other, and we explain any point where the grants or patent position may change what you file.

That is common and sensible. We do not replace your accountant. We tell them which costs are in the R&D claim and which are capital items, so each purchase is relieved once. Where a point needs specialist input from them, such as asset classification, we say so plainly and coordinate with them where appropriate.

They can. Early-stage companies often raise money under EIS or SEIS, apply for grants and grant options to their first technical hires, all while building a first R&D claim. Getting the records right from the start makes each of these easier. We can help you consider the order of priorities.

Our work centres on R&D claims, including enquiries into them. See our page on HMRC enquiry defence for how we approach that. If an enquiry raises a related relief, such as a grant or a capital allowance, we look at how it affects the R&D claim and tell you where you need specialist advice from another adviser.

Earlier periods follow the rules in force at the time. For periods beginning before 1 April 2024 those are the SME and RDEC schemes, including their grant rules. Late claims, amended returns and enquiries can still involve those years, so we check the period first and apply the right set of rules.

R&D happens in many sectors, from software and engineering to manufacturing and life sciences, and related reliefs vary by sector. A games studio may look at creative credits, a manufacturer at full expensing, a biotech at the Patent Box. We start with your technical work and then look at which of these pages are relevant.

Yes, because some decisions are easier before a claim than after it. Buying equipment, taking a grant, raising investment and granting options all leave records that a later claim has to reconcile with. Reading the relevant page first helps you keep those records tidy. We can then look at how your first claim fits with whichever reliefs you are using.

Book a call and tell us which reliefs you are already using or considering. We will confirm your accounting periods, check how each relief meets your R&D claim, and tell you what we need to see. If something falls outside our speciality, we say so and point you to the right adviser.