ABGi Ireland prepare and review company’s expenditure in an R&D Tax credit claim to ensure that the allocation of costs represent the eligible technical activities (Science Test) set out by Revenue.

This is in parallel with assisting and defending the R&D Tax Credit claims in case of a review by Revenue. These factors alone may already be a good reason to consider selecting an R&D Tax Credit service provider, however there are even more reasons….

Below we have provided an example of how a technical consultant’s involvement improves the R&D Tax Credit claim preparation process. We refer to these as “high hanging fruit” as it takes an industry expert in the field of science and technology and in R&D to identify and determine spend resulting in a significant claim increase.

Example | R&D Tax Revenue Audit Pharma Industry

A company experienced a time-consuming Revenue audit for a claim the company prepared internally. As a result, more than 50% of the claim was rejected. ABGi Ireland were selected to help with the claim for the following year.

Before the consultant was involved, the work was tracked and presented as many small projects – each for a separate product developed.

Why track your projects?

This could be the correct approach when each product is very different from each other and its development is challenging on its own right.  However in this case the products (natural soaps, shampoos. etc.) were presented to the reviewer as having similar challenges and advancements. Therefore, the auditor’s conclusion was that only some out of the many developments were eligible, the others were rejected.

When the consultant reviewed the work to assist with the next claim preparation, they identified through discussion with the project leaders that each of the rejected product developments had their own nuances which were not tracked properly and were not presented to the auditor.

The R&D Process

R&D is usually not about the final product, but about the process, learning, technological advancement and approach. Based on that, the consultant developed an efficient method to track the process of the work carried out and include the activities as part of the bigger R&D project.

Perhaps if the company used a service provider and a technical consultant for their previous claim, the work/ projects could have been qualified by the Revenue as eligible.

ABGi Ireland technical consultants assist companies with efficient identification and preparation of their R&D work, as well as developing processes for proper tracking of information. However, having mentioned this, identifying and determining R&D work for claim submission involves the experience of a trained professional who is an expert in each relevant industry.

Need Help?

At ABGi, we’ve been helping Irish businesses successfully leverage R&D tax credits and grants since 2011. If you’re planning to claim and want to make sure your application is handled correctly, our technical consultants are ready to support you.

Contact us today for a free 1-to-1 consultation.