HMRC launches R&D Advance Assurance scheme in late November

HMRC have been consulting recently on ways to improve the take-up and administration of Research and Development claims by companies - in fact the title of their consultation was "Making R&D Easier"!!
Following on from this consultation there will be a number of improvements to the current system and I believe that a key improvement will be a new Advance Assurance facility.  How it will work:

• Companies already undertaking R&D, or more importantly those intending to undertake R&D, will be able to submit an Advance Assurance form in relation to the specific R&D of the business. 
• If the Advance Assurance is successful, it will mean that the first 3, yes 3, years of R&D claims by the company will be processed without any further enquiry into the claims

We are still awaiting the final documentation to appear on the HMRC website, but I would expect it within the next 2 weeks.  This is very good news and will provide tax certainty, at least,  for those companies venturing into the world of R&D for the first time.

The other improvements to come out of the consultation are in the following areas:

1. Treatment of sub-contractors in the R&D tax relief schemes will be reviewed, as this is a notoriously "grey" area.
2. More concise examples to be provided in relation to explaining "appreciable improvement".
3. A commitment from HMRC to assist companies by providing upfront certainty to smaller tech start-up companies investing in software development - another notoriously difficult area to navigate your way through.

So, overall good news for a dark November day.