Missed the notification deadline? Check these things first.

Possibly. HMRC's guidance says a claim for which notification was required but not made in time is invalid. But the first question is whether notification was needed at all, and the second is whether the notification rules applied to that period. We check both before drawing any conclusion, and we tell you plainly if the answer is that the claim cannot be made.

The guidance we rely on does not describe one, and we would not rely on one without looking at your facts. We read the dates, the history and what HMRC has said, and tell you honestly what the position is. If a route exists on your facts, we will find it. If not, we will say so, and turn to what can still be protected.

Usually, the current period and any future ones. The notification for a period can be made from its first day until six months after it ends, so if the current period has not ended, or ended less than six months ago, there is time. We map each period, its deadline and its time limit in a short table so nothing else is missed.

You needed to notify for a period beginning on or after 1 April 2023 if you were claiming for the first time, or if your last claim was more than three years before the last date of the notification period. Companies claiming regularly often did not need to. We check your claim history and tell you which rule applied.

Only in limited cases, and only if timing was met. A company that had claimed before, but more than three years earlier, can make the claim on its return or an amended return instead of notifying, provided HMRC receives it by the notification deadline. After that date it does not help, so we check whether the return route was available and when.

That is a legal question, and we do not give legal advice on it. Keep the engagement letter and all correspondence about who was to notify and when. We can set out the facts and explain the technical consequences clearly, which a solicitor would need if you decided to pursue it. We deal with what can still be done.

No other relief replaces R&D tax relief, but related reliefs may still apply to the same spend. For example, capital expenditure on R&D can qualify for research and development allowances, and a Patent Box election has its own time limit. They are separate regimes with their own conditions. We look at what your facts allow.

If notification applies to the current period and the window is open, yes, and sooner is safer. It does not commit you to claiming. It must be submitted online, and it must name every agent. We prepare it with you, so the details match the additional information form later. Our notification checker will show whether you need one.

Put the dates in a diary at the start of every period of account: the first day, six months after the end, and the two-year time limit. Appoint one person to own them, and ask your adviser to confirm in writing each year whether notification is needed. Our Assured package includes a next-year claim-notification reminder.

Each period is judged separately, but history matters. If the missed period's claim was never made, your last valid claim is further back, and the three-year test for later periods looks at that date. So a missed claim can make a later period one that needs notification. We check this whenever a past claim was not made.

If your last claim was more than three years before the last date of the notification period, yes. The test is measured from the date of that last claim, so the answer changes as time passes. There are exceptions, such as where HMRC removed a claim. Send us the dates and we will work it out.

Then the period of account may be shorter or longer than 12 months, and the notification deadline is six months after its end. A time limit for the claim also depends on the length of the period. Changes of year end are easy to overlook, so we check each period of account, rather than assuming a calendar pattern.

The notification requirement is about claiming R&D tax relief for the period, so it applies whichever scheme the claim ends up under. It is not a choice made at notification. The scheme is chosen when the claim is prepared, and we model both. So a missed notification affects the whole claim, not one scheme.

The dates of each period of account, when and whether you have claimed before, any notification you sent, any HMRC letters, and your adviser's engagement letter. If you have none of these, send what you have. We can usually rebuild the picture from the company's own records and filings. We reply the same working day.

For a period where notification was required and late, probably not as an R&D tax relief claim. But we would not give up on the strength of a guess. We first make sure that notification was required and that the dates are right. If a claim cannot be made, we turn to later periods and related reliefs.