What Is the Deadline For R&D Tax Credit Claims?

If your company is involved in innovation—whether that’s developing new software, improving manufacturing processes, or conducting scientific research—you could be entitled to a valuable tax break through Ireland’s R&D tax credit scheme. Designed to reward companies investing in research and development, the scheme offers a 30% tax credit on qualifying expenditure.

But here’s the catch: the clock is ticking. Revenue set a strict deadline for submitting claims, and missing it means potentially losing out on significant financial support.

There are clear timeframes set for R&D tax credit claims. Any claim made, regardless of accounting period, must be made within 12 months of the end of the accounting period being claimed. This applies to extended and shortened accounting periods.

For example, a company making a claim for an accounting period ending 31^st December 2024 has until 31^st December 2025 to submit the claim. Any costs that were incurred in this period must be included in the claim.

Once you claim is made, Revenue will pay out the credit in the relevant instalments, as decided by you, the company.

If your accounting period is less than or more than 12 months, your second instalment of the credit (if applicable) will be available 12 months after the CT pay and file date. The third instalment is available 24 months after this date.

Unfortunately, Revenue is clear about its rules regarding time limits. If you miss the deadline, there is no option to make a claim beyond this date.

To this end, it’s best to keep track of your R&D projects and submit early, especially with the new requirements for advance notification, which have brought the deadline even closer for first-time claimants and those who haven’t made a claim in the last three years. With the pre-filing notification, these companies now must submit a form showing their intent to claim at least 90 days before their submission.

Making a timely claim is all about preparation. A robust claim that holds up to potential scrutiny takes longer than an hour or two to complete on the last day before the deadline.

According to Revenue’s guidelines, you should be preparing for your claim while you are doing your R&D. This will allow you to keep contemporaneous records of the work you did and the time you spent on qualifying work. Revenue requires a certain degree of record-keeping and can request to see this evidence in the event of an aspect query.

Of course, many companies are not even aware of the scheme when they are completing their projects, or do not have it at the forefront of their mind. For those with less-than-perfect records, preparing for your claim will take even longer, as you’ll need to gather the relevant materials post-work. This could require cross-functional teams (finance and technical, for example) to ensure that no costs are missed.

To make a solid claim, you must have strong evidence for your financial analysis (which shows which costs you have claimed and why) and be able to demonstrate how your project qualifies.

Not sure if you need to submit a pre-filing notification? Questions about eligible costs or qualifying projects? Get in touch with Tax Cloud’s experts! We have over 20 years of experience in R&D tax claims and we’re always happy to chat about innovation funding.

Author Barrie Dowsett, ACMA, GCMA CEO, Tax Cloud