R&D Tax Relief Claims in the Construction Sector

The HMRC figures show a sharp rise in construction businesses claiming for tax relief on innovation-focused investment. The amounts claimed have gone up from £35 million in 2014-15 to £135m for the latest period which covers 2017-18, nearly a fourfold increase.

The volume of construction industry R&D tax relief claims has doubled from 2% in 2014-15 to 4% of all claims being made.

More significantly, the new figures show construction sector claim numbers have increased by 675% since 2012-13, suggesting companies are investing heavily in innovation and process improvements.

The latest HMRC statistics show manufacturing companies continue to top the industry sector table in making R&D tax credit claims.

Businesses operating in ‘professional, scientific and technical’, and ‘information and communication’ sectors account respectively for the second and third highest volume of claims. Together these top three categories were responsible for a combined total of 68% of claims and 73% of the total amount claimed in 2017-18.

A total of £4.3 billion of tax relief support was claimed by all sectors in this period, corresponding to £31.3bn of R&D expenditure by British businesses. The HMRC figures are based on partial data for the year with the total number set to increase further as more returns are received.

Commenting on the new figures, Scott Henderson, CEO of ABGI UK, said: “Given the importance of continued innovation within these sectors, it’s not surprising to see manufacturers as well as technology-focused businesses topping the table within the HMRC’s annual R&D tax relief statistics.

Article originally published on Scottish Construction Now

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