A tax credit of 25% applies to the full amount of qualifying R&D expenditure incurred by a company on qualifying R&D activities. This credit is in addition to the normal 12.5% revenue deduction available for the R&D expenditure thereby resulting in an effective corporation tax benefit of 37.5%.
A separate R&D tax credit is available in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying R&D building. In order to qualify, 35% of the building must be used for qualifying R&D activities, and this threshold is measured over a four-year period. This is of particular assistance where R&D is carried on in a manufacturing environment. The credit available is equal to 25% of the proportion of the expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of a qualifying building, that aligns to the R&D use of the building. A full volume basis applies to the R&D tax credit for expenditure incurred on qualifying R&D buildings.
The R&D tax credit is available for offset against the current year corporation tax liability of the company in the first instance. Any excess can be carried back for offset against the prior-year corporation tax liability to generate a tax refund, and any further excess can be monetised over a three-year cycle. The amount that can be monetised is limited to the greater of the corporation tax payable by the company in the ten year period ending in the year preceding the prior period (subject to an adjustment dependent upon previous claims) or the payroll tax liabilities of the company for both the period in which the R&D expenditure is incurred and the prior year (subject to an adjustment dependent upon previous claims).
In addition, companies may account for the R&D tax credit through their profit and loss account or income statement in arriving at the pre-tax profit or loss. This immediately impacts the unit cost of R&D, which is the key measurement used by multinational corporations when considering the locations of R&D projects.
Companies that are in receipt of an R&D tax credit have the option, in certain instances, to reward key employees through an alternative use of that credit. In effect, the company may surrender a portion of their R&D credit (that could otherwise have been used to reduce corporation tax) to ‘key employees’ to reduce their effective rate of tax to 23% (the average effective rate of tax for such employees would typically be in excess of 40% in the absence of such R&D tax credit). In order to qualify as a ‘key employee’, the individual must perform 50% or more of their employment duties on qualifying R&D activities.
The R&D regime caters for pre-trading expenditure incurred on qualifying R&D activities. Where a company incurs R&D expenditure but has not yet commenced to trade, an R&D claim in this regard must be made within 12 months from the end of the accounting period in which the company first commences to trade.
Subcontracted R&D costs of up to the 15% of qualifying in-house R&D expenditure incurred by a company or EUR 100,000 (whichever is greater) can qualify for the R&D tax credit.
Payments to third level institutions of up to 15% of qualifying in-house R&D expenditure incurred by a company or EUR 100,000 (whichever is greater) can qualify for the R&D tax credit.
An increased R&D tax credit on qualifying R&D expenditure of 30% for Micro and Small companies (i.e. those groups with fewer than 50 employees and annual turnover and/or balance sheet not exceeding €10m) has recently been provided for in legislation. However, this is subject to a Ministerial commencement order which has not yet been issued.
It should be noted that expenditure incurred on the acquisition of intangible assets that qualify for capital allowances under the IP regime and expenditure incurred in registering/applying for legal protection for intangible assets that are developed as a result of R&D activities do not qualify for the R&D credit.
Ref: PWC
