R&D Tax Incentive

Maximise your business cash flow through R&D Tax Incentive

The Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&D Tax Incentive) offers a tax offset for companies conducting eligible R&D activities to encourage them to engage in R&D benefiting Australian businesses. The program promotes business across all industries to conduct experimental or testing activities to generate new knowledge (in the form of new or improved materials, products, devices, processes, or services).

The R&D Tax Incentive helps companies innovate and grow by offsetting some of the costs of eligible R&D. The R&D Tax Incentive has two core components:

A refundable tax offset for certain eligible entities whose aggregated turnover is less than $20 million
A non-refundable tax offset for all other eligible entities.

What are the benefits?

Eligible R&D conducted

Turnover of less than $20 million
A refundable R&D tax offset of 18.5% plus your corporate tax rate
Turnover of $20 million or more
The non-refundable R&D tax offset is your corporate tax rate plus an incremental premium that is based on your R&D Intensity (i.e. your R&D spend as a % of your total expenses).

1. 8.5% additional tax credit R&D intensity up to 2%
2. 16.5% additional tax credit R&D intensity 2% above

Who is eligible?

Generally, only R&D activities conducted in Australia qualify for the R&D tax incentive, unless you have received an Advanced Overseas Finding with AusIndustry. R&D must meet certain criteria to be eligible which must be classified as either core R&D activities or supporting R&D activities.

To be eligible, you must:

Be incorporated under Australian or a foreign law
Conduct or plan to conduct 1 or more eligible core research and development activities
Have eligible R&D expenditure greater than $20,000

Core R&D activities are experimental activities:

Whose outcome cannot be known or determined in advance on the basis of current knowledge, information or experience, but can only be determined by applying a systematic progression of work that
- Is based on principles of established science; and
- Proceeds from hypothesis to experiment, observation and evaluation, and leads to logical conclusions

That are conducted for the purpose of generating new knowledge (including about creating new knowledge or improved materials, products, devices, processes, or services).

Supporting R&D activities

A supporting activity is one that is directly related to core R&D activities or, for certain activities, has been undertaken for the dominant purpose of supporting core R&D activities. Activities that must satisfy the dominant purpose requirement are those that produce – or are directly related to producing – goods or services; or are excluded from being core R&D activities.

How we can help you

We’re not an average tax accounting firm. We’re one of few firms with depth of knowledge and experience in obtaining R&D benefits across all industries. As experienced R&D Tax Incentive specialists from a global top tier accounting firms, our intimate knowledge of the latest legislation and guidelines have helped our clients understand the complex eligibility criteria and secure the critical financial support available to growing businesses through the R&D Tax Incentive.

We can help you:

Identify eligibility and potential R&D projects
Collect documentation to substantiate your R&D activities
Calculate your eligible R&D expenditure
Lodge your R&D application with AusIndustry

Many businesses are not aware that they can recoup up to 43.5% of expenses as a cash rebate under the R&D Tax Incentive Grants. Our experienced team can help you access R&D Tax Incentive program. Book your complimentary 30-min grant eligibility assessment session to identify your business’s eligibility for the R&D Tax Incentive.

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