If your company has a 31 December 2024 year-end, and:

• You’ve never claimed R&D tax relief before, or
• You haven’t claimed in the past three accounting periods,

You must notify HMRC of your intention to claim by 30 June 2025.

It’s a formal requirement to inform HMRC that a company intends to submit an R&D claim. This must happen before the claim is submitted.

Who needs to pre-notify?

Companies with accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2023 must pre-notify if:

• they’re claiming R&D tax relief for the first time, or

• they haven’t made a claim in the past three accounting periods.

• If a claim has been made in any of the last three periods filed on time with the original tax return and not by amendment*, pre-notification is not required.

⚠️* Note: this is important: Any R&D claims submitted by amendment after 1 April 2023 for an accounting period that commenced before 1 April 2023 do not count as a valid claim for this purpose.

When is the deadline?

Pre-notification must be submitted within six months of the end of the accounting period being claimed. For companies with a 31 December 2024 year-end, this means the deadline is 30 June 2025.

Pre-notification must contain:

• Company details
• Contact information for the senior R&D person and agent (if applicable)
• Basic information about the R&D activities

This is separate from the full R&D claim, which still needs to be submitted through the Corporation Tax return and may require an Additional Information Form.

What if you don’t pre-notify?

If your company is required to pre-notify and misses the deadline, you will not be able to make an R&D claim for that period.

What if my year-end isn’t December?

While we’ve focused here on the 30 June 2025 deadline because of the high volume of December year-end companies, it’s important to understand that pre-notification applies to all accounting periods.

Deadlines vary depending on when the company’s year-end falls — it’s a rolling monthly requirement, and the clock starts ticking once the accounting period ends.

👉 Here’s a handy chart to help you confirm the correct deadline based on your year-end: View the pre-notification deadline chart

Our technical consultants are on hand to support – please get in touch with ABGi. A representative will get back to you to discuss your unique needs and explain how we can assist.