What exactly are “eligible activities”? Sep 13 2017 | Ian Donaldson, Jumpstart representative in Aberdeen and the North-east

IN the current economic climate, it’s still surprising that more businesses don’t explore all of the tax incentives available to help lighten the burden by either reducing tax payable and or if applicable, securing a tax repayment.

If you are a company where you have people and costs associated with project activities aimed at advancing what you do, then you could be eligible for R&D tax credits. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to have labs full of people in white coats to qualify for R&D tax relief. The biggest hitters are in manufacturing, software and IT, and food and drink, but Jumpstart has secured R&D tax credits for a host of other companies in sectors ranging from agriculture and machining to waste and recycling. 

What exactly are “eligible activities”?

It’s as easy as ABC for experts like Jumpstart, as we look at 3 clients who recently received a substantial monetary return.

A is for... applications.

When you are asked to use a product for one application when it was designed for another can lead to eligible activities. The use of materials or processes usually associated with another industry can often be eligible. Even using your product in a different environment which challenges your product performance is often a good source of eligibility.

B is for... buoyancy aids.

The manufacture of buoyancy devices often causes challenges ensuring different climatic conditions and material requirements produce a consistent degree of buoyancy. Variable conditions such as temperature can often cause issues and problems not to mention getting the right material that is both light and robust whilst resistance to abrasion.

C is for... classification.

Often meeting new pieces of legislation will pose a significant technical challenge. This can be if you product requires to be zone 1 approved or has to satisfy a code such as AMSE. The changes you have to make to your product can often be eligible.

D is for... Do We Need to Say More?

We could exhaust the alphabet many times over!

So if you are manufacturing something and your industry sector starts with a letter of the alphabet, then you should investigate how you can Jumpstart your cash flow with R&D tax relief.