R&D Tax Relief and Agriculture Sector
Agriculture is one of the most important industries, which, unfortunately, is going through many global problems: increased demand, severe temperature changes, changes in climate patterns, drought, and drier land. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic increased supply chain issues, whereas Brexit added additional pressure to the food and agricultural industry, causing labour shortages and all these challenges collectively adversely affected the food and agriculture industry.
With all these significant challenges, there’s a great need for advancement in the agritech. The Agritech sector is where technology is used to create solutions to problems in food, farming and agriculture. There are many companies which are working hard to develop solutions to increase agricultural productivity and cost reduction.
The positive aspect is that businesses contributing to technological advancement might qualify for R&D tax relief, which can be extremely helpful for them. R&D tax incentives allow companies to claim a reduction in their corporation tax bill and save large amounts, which can be reinvested in overcoming the challenges arising in agriculture and getting better outcomes.
The R&D tax relief scheme is the UK government’s way of incentivising companies to encourage maximum investment and work in scientific and technological advancement. This scheme is available to companies of all sizes without any minimum limit on R&D expenditure to make an R&D tax relief claim. Unfortunately, the majority of companies in the agriculture sector are still unaware of their eligibility for the claim. This blog will help you know how you could be eligible for the R&D tax relief claim.
R&D Costs You Can Claim For
R&D activities do not specifically need to be performed in the labs; it can be any of the activities from your day-to-day operations. Some common qualifying R&D expenditures are:
- Staff costs
- Materials
- Prototype and testing costs
- Subcontractor costs
- Consumables costs, including power and heat
- Externally Provided Workers (EPW) costs
Sectors That Can Make R&D Tax Relief Claim
Any sector that works for the advancement of science and technology by contributing to research and development can claim R&D tax relief. Regardless of the company’s size and R&D expenditure, any UK-based company from any domain can make a claim and receive incentives. If your company is operating in any of the following sectors and working on eligible R&D activities, you are most likely to qualify for an R&D tax relief claim:
- Admin & Support Services
- Retail & Trade
- Information & Communication
- Manufacturing
- Food & Beverages
- Agriculture
If you are eligible, you can claim R&D incentives, and your company will receive R&D tax credits, a reduction in the company’s corporation tax bill or a refund.
Examples of the Qualifying Projects
R&D projects can be any small innovation or creation of some new method for improved production results that also qualify for the R&D tax relief claim. Following are the examples of the qualifying projects from the agriculture sector:
- Creating fertilisers
- Developing new pest control methods
- Creating new methods of adaption to atmospheric circumstances and reducing environmental impacts
- Using technology for improved agricultural outcomes
- Testing new plant varieties for disease resistance
- Creation of processes to reuse waste products, for example, biofuels
- Developing new and more effective scientific or technical methods for pest control
- Developing new techniques to increase yield
- Using an automated irrigation system
- Advanced heat control system to improve yield
- Software analysis for soil management and disease prediction
- Systems to reduce waste products or recycle
- Developing better livestock systems
- Methods to enhance sustainability
- Preventing storage issues
- Creating innovative vertical farming methods
- Preventing waste in the harvest
- Techniques to increase yield to meet demands
- Creating improved resource management
- Creating smart land monitoring methods
- Using robots to fertilise and harvest crops
- Techniques for crop disease management
- Performing feeding trials
- Agricultural trials for pesticides
Is Your Company Missing Out on Lucrative R&D Tax Relief Claim?
In today’s world, innovation is taking place in every sector, and companies from all domains are seeking advancement in science and technology, unaware of the benefits they can get from it. Over the years, we have observed that companies from the agriculture sector need to realise their potential to claim valuable R & D tax relief. Contact our R&D tax specialists if you are a UK-based company seeking innovation by creating some new technique or improved method to overcome challenges in the agriculture sector. Our team of R&D experts will help you dig out all your qualifying expenditure and projects to maximise your R&D tax relief claim. R&D tax relief or credits can be highly valuable for your company; R&D incentives will help you maintain your cash flow, improve operations, and overcome challenges moving your business forward by reinvesting credits. So contact our R&D tax experts and start your R&D claim process now!