Jumpstart, the UK’s leading facilitator of research and development (R&D) tax credits for businesses, is set to launch a marketing campaign to tell the UK’s construction industry about the substantial sums of R&D tax credits they are missing out on from HMRC.
Jumpstart’s MD, Brian Williamson, said: “Construction businesses and their suppliers are often unsure about their eligibility for R&D tax credits and, historically, have shied away from pursuing them.
“This is a pity. Very substantial sums in R&D tax credits are available to the huge range of innovative engineering and materials companies which support the construction industry in the UK, including manufacturers of concrete, damp proof coursing, tanking, steelwork, render systems, insulation systems, cladding panels, glazing, fixings, glues and paints and more.
“All of these products have to meet specific technical performance requirements and also comply with constantly changing legislation. Other areas of possible eligibility are in the construction and trialling of prototype homes that are more energy efficient and produce less CO2, especially to meet ever-stricter standards.
“Other activities that make companies eligible for R&D tax credits include increasing the durability and/or the lifespan of materials that protect the exterior of a building, enhancing the stability of products, for example, to reduce sun bleaching,improving the energy efficiency of systems used within a building, and developing alternative production or construction techniques to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects.
“Developing more effective techniques for removing contaminants from land, or finding ways to remove new combinations of waste chemicals, as well as new construction techniques to create buildings that are more resistant to earthquakes, storms, and other acts of nature, are all activities which meet the eligibility criteria for R&D tax credits.”
Jumpstart was founded in 2008 to engage with UK businesses by informing and guiding them through HMRC’s R&D tax relief claim process. In its relatively short history, the business has grown its client base to more than 500 companies across all regions of the UK and has an annual business pipeline in excess of £10m. The total amount of money recovered to date by Jumpstart for its clients is over £55 million; the average claim size is £29k.
Unlike most financial services firms, Jumpstart’s technical analysts, comprising scientists, technologists, chemists, biologists, engineers, physicists and software engineers, are qualified to drill down into the most complex business and scientific systems and present information in a uniquely compliant form.
Working with a range of companies it has won them significant tax advantages by highlighting to HMRC the innovative aspects of their business practices.
Mr Williamson said: “More than 13,010 SMEs and 2,920 large companies across the UK are already claiming £1.4 billion in tax relief from HMRC. Each year it is estimated that a potential £2 billion can be claimed by UK companies but some £600 million of that went unclaimed in the last financial year.”
Within the construction sector Jumpstart has so far recovered some £940k for clients, though its most successful construction sector application for R&D tax credits resulted in a refund of £434k over four claim years.
