With applications for the R&D Tax Incentives for 2011/12 now closed, it is time for businesses to consider where they can take advantage of the significant savings on offer for this financial year.
AusIndustry has indicated that they were expecting some 1400 applications more that they got. This means a lot of companies are missing out on cold, hard cash from the government!!
The new R&D Tax Incentive is easy in many ways but it does require a degree of organisation, which we would all agree is not a bad thing. There is always a flurry of activity coming up to 30 April each year to get registration for R&D. This makes it difficult for all concerned; the business, the consultant and AusIndustry.
We cannot stress enough the advantages of being ahead of the game. The saving in time and stress is significant, and almost invariably the amount of the tax incentive is noticeably more.
The R&D Tax Incentive is a great source of cash flow. Many companies are undertaking R&D without knowing they are eligible for the tax incentive. I have just finished a paper on this for the Tax Institute and it highlights with some case studies how broad the scope of R&D can be. For the record, the paper is for a national conference called “Tax through the bottom of a glass”: my paper is entitled “Does drinking on the job count as R&D?” Don’t know why they picked me to present at this conference.
The R&D Tax Incentive has now been further enhanced with a quarterly payment for most businesses. Rather than having to wait for the tax return to be lodged, the R&D payments can be made quarterly.
If you as a business or any accounting practice clients are unsure whether or not you might be eligible, contact me for an obligation free meeting. What have you got to lose?
As my old mate Paul Gerrard from Thompson Reuters (if you are looking for great R&D software, give PG a call) put it so succinctly to me the other day, the new R&D Tax Incentive can be summarised as:
Documentation = Evidence = Verification = Cash
As for whether or not drinking on the job does count as R&D, read my paper.
Tony Ince, Mostyn Consulting 