Ireland’s R&D tax credit is becoming more generous, but that also means more attention from Revenue. As the rate rises to 35% and higher first‑year repayment thresholds apply, claims will be larger, more cash‑rich, and more closely reviewed.

However, it is imperative that the work being claimed has first been validated and proven to meet Revenue’s strict eligibility criteria. None of the documentation or compliance points below are relevant if the underlying activity does not qualify as genuine R&D. Companies must be clear on where true R&D starts and stops, and ensure only qualifying activities and costs are included.

Revenue’s starting point will be contemporaneous technical evidence. Companies are expected to keep project plans, design and test records, prototypes, code repositories, and other documentation created during the work, not reconstructed afterwards. These records should clearly show the scientific or technological uncertainties you were trying to resolve and the systematic work carried out to address them.

Time evidence will also come under sharper focus. Businesses need to demonstrate how staff time has been spent on qualifying R&D activities, usually through timesheets, project codes, or similar systems that link people, tasks, and projects in a traceable way. Where staff work partly on R&D and partly on non‑R&D, the allocation must be clear and reasonable.

Across the full project lifecycle, Revenue will expect to see documentation that follows the work from start to finish. That includes records of initial uncertainties, investigation and experimentation, changes of direction, failures, and final outcomes, all linked to the costs claimed. For larger or cash‑repayable claims, you should anticipate more in‑depth audit activity that combines technical and tax questions rather than looking only at the numbers.

That process begins with correctly identifying which projects (and which elements within those projects) meet the definition of R&D. Establishing the boundary between qualifying R&D and business-as-usual activity is often where mistakes arise, and it is an area where specialist technical input is critical.

The most effective way to manage this is to prepare early. Putting proportionate documentation, time-tracking and review processes in place, and validating eligibility before submission, will reduce risk, make any Revenue interaction easier, and help ensure that you can continue to benefit from the enhanced incentive with confidence.

If you have any questions about R&D tax credits or Grant Funding please get in touch with ABGI Ireland. We are one of Ireland’s trusted and leading R&D consultancies, with a proven track record of guiding clients successfully through Revenue audits: from Level 1 reviews to Level 3 on-site interventions. We help companies correctly identify where qualifying R&D begins and ends, build evidence-ready processes, and prepare robust, compliant claims that stand up to the highest levels of scrutiny.