Insights
The fine print, decoded.
Plain-English guidance on R&D tax relief — written by people who prepare and defend claims every day.
12 published
14 September 2026 What to Do When You Receive an HMRC Compliance Check Letter An HMRC compliance check letter for an R&D tax claim almost always arrives at an inconvenient moment. It lands in the middle of a build week or the day before a board meeting, written in language that manages to be both formal and vague. 
7 September 2026 When Does It Make Sense to Outsource Your R&D Tax Claim vs. Doing It In-House? Every growing engineering or technology business eventually reaches the same crossroads: R&D activity is increasing, the relief is significant, and someone in finance asks the obvious question — should we build this capability internally or bring in a specialist? There's no single right answer.
31 August 2026 What Should Your R&D Tax Adviser Actually Be Doing? A Checklist for Business Owners Here is a practical checklist. It is not a pitch for our own service; these are the things any competent R&D tax adviser should be doing for you, regardless of who you use
24 August 2026 A care home, the pandemic, and an £880,000 R&D claim that failed On 6 August 2026, the First-tier Tribunal dismissed an appeal by Tanglewood Care Services Limited against HMRC's decision to remove an R&D tax relief claim worth £880,286. 
13 July 2026 The HMRC R&D Crackdown: What’s Changed and Where Scrutiny Is Focused in 2025/26 If you filed an R&D tax claim more than a couple of years ago and you’re now due to file another, don’t expect the same process. 
2 July 2026 What Actually Counts as R&D for Tax Purposes? A Plain-English Guide If you run an engineering business, a software company, or a manufacturer pushing the boundaries of what's technically possible, there's a good chance you're already doing research 
2 May 2025 Why HMRC Enquiry Rates Into R&D Claims Are Rising — And What It Means For You A few years ago, an R&D tax credit claim landing on HMRC's desk was unlikely to attract a second look. That's no longer the world we operate in. 
3 October 2024 You Think You Qualify for R&D Tax Relief? R&D tax relief is an extremely valuable incentive for innovative businesses, which is precisely why it is so frequently misunderstood and misapplied. 
5 April 2024 HMRC Increase Compliance Checks for R&D Tax Credit Claims HMRC has significantly increased its level of scrutiny of R&D tax credit claims. 
10 November 2022 Reforms to Research and Development (R&D) Tax Reliefs In the Autumn Statement delivered in November 2022, the government announced significant reforms to the UK’s R&D tax relief schemes. 
18 September 2020 HMRC Enquiry: Why They Happen, How Long They Last, and How to Prepare Your Response Correctly An HMRC enquiry can feel daunting — but if your R&D tax relief claim has been prepared correctly, it does not need to be a cause for concern. 
1 July 2020 R&D Tax Credits for Loss Making Innovators Many clients and prospective clients wrongly believe that they are unable to make an R&D Tax Claim because they made a loss and didn’t pay any tax in the financial year. Get in touch