The software industry, perhaps more than any other, is driven by innovation. Developing new products, or improving existing ones, is a vital part for any software company’s operation. Despite the fact that software accounts for 65% of all R&D tax relief claims we still speak regularly to businesses who are unsure they are eligible or think that establishing and defining qualifying R&D in the context of software development is too challenging.
JJMK help clients resolve the complexity and identify the untapped value of their software development.
Branches of software development with increased potential to claim R&D include;
- data processing and storage
- AI
- Cloud computing
- Augmented reality
- Software-defined networking
- Robotics
- Video games.
Who Qualifies?
Any company that is developing software could qualify for R&D tax relief:
- Software development companies:
- Typically, a business that has teams of software developers to support other businesses in their software projects.
- Software houses:
- May create and iterate software, provide Software as a Service(SaaS), business tools or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
- Businesses that develop software in-house:
- Any business that performs a bespoke software development project.
What type of software projects can qualify for R&D Tax Credits?
Common examples of software development projects that may qualify for R&D tax relief include:
- state-of-the-art software for new projects, or new functionality for existing R&D projects;
- tools to extend the functionality of application software programs or of an operating system;
- extensions to database software, programming languages, or operating systems;
- software development tools, such as tools to port data across platforms, tools for image processing or character recognition;
- novel data management techniques, such as new object representations and new data structures;
- innovative methods of capturing, transmitting, manipulating, and protecting data;
- software to run new computer hardware;
- software to run on devices with pre-installed operating systems, such as handheld GPS, mobile phones, and tablets; or,
- means of integrating hardware and software platforms.
For further guidance contact info@jjmkconsultants.co.uk