ForrestBrown Launches New Enquiry Support Service for Companies Facing an HMRC R&D Tax Relief Enquiry

New service launched in response to HMRC's drive to prevent abuse of R&D tax relief scheme

BRISTOL, England, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ForrestBrown, the UK's largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy, has launched a new enquiry support service in response to HMRC's move to prevent abuse of the Government's research and development (R&D) tax relief scheme for SMEs.

The new support service is aimed at businesses, accountants or specialist advisers facing an HMRC enquiry having already submitted an R&D tax credit claim.  The move comes in response to HMRC taking steps to combat fraudulent claims and make it even clearer what information it expects to receive in support of R&D tax credit claims.

Talking about the need to introduce this new specialist service, Jenny Tragner, director at R&D tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown and member of HMRC's R&D consultative committee, commented: "R&D tax credits are a valuable source of funding that helps businesses to grow and prosper. They are vitally important to driving business innovation.

"The last six months have seen a seismic shift in HMRC's approach to R&D tax credits following reports that it had identified and prevented £300m of fraud linked to a R&D tax credit claim.  The Government has also announced that it will be reintroducing the PAYE and NIC cap on the SME payable credit that was abolished in 2012, introduced a new online service and has also provided new software guidance.  Given HMRC's significant efforts to ensure high standards and consistency, businesses and advisers alike may face a claim being challenged where before it was not. We're therefore ready to engage with businesses who may need our support."

Jenny concluded: "We've previously provided this service to several businesses on an ad hoc basis but wanted to formalise this service to ensure that the incentive achieves its purpose.  We understand that anyone facing an HMRC enquiry may feel at risk, and that's why we are offering our considerable specialist technical expertise to provide peace of mind at a time of considerable stress.  Furthermore, our long-standing relationship with HMRC means we benefit from policy-level insights, meaning that we know exactly what HMRC are looking for in support of R&D tax credit claims."

Passionate about helping innovative businesses grow and providing growth fuel to the UK economy, ForrestBrown's new service will see a dedicated team of experts review R&D tax credit claims prepared by others. They will initially carry out a thorough review of the potential client's R&D tax credit claim(s) and the correspondence they have received from HMRC. If they deem the claim to be legitimate, they will guide the business through the enquiry process until a satisfactory resolution is reached.

Unlike its end-to-end R&D tax credit claim service, ForrestBrown charges a time and materials-based fee for its new enquiry support service. The enquiry support service is one of the consultancy services that ForrestBrown offers businesses, accountants or specialist advisers. 

ForrestBrown, R&D Tax Credit Consultancy

ForrestBrown is the UK's largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy. Our award-winning 98-strong team of qualified chartered tax advisers, accountants, lawyers, industry sector specialists and former HMRC inspectors help innovative businesses grow. We were named 'best independent consultancy firm' at The Taxation Awards 2018. We advise more than 150 companies a month and last year we delivered more than £100m for our clients.

https://forrestbrown.co.uk/