Figures released by HMRC have revealed three sectors continue to dominate and reap the majority of R&D Tax Credit benefits including ‘Manufacturing’, ‘Professional, Scientific & Technical’ and ‘Information and Communications’.

In light of the Chancellor’s announcement last week to support SMEs focusing on research and development, it is expected more UK companies, including within the Construction sector, will be driving innovation and be in a position to apply for more R&D Tax Credit relief immediately.

The UK statistics revealed that there were 1,790 claims across the construction sector, amounting to £90m. This is an increase in the number of claims the previous year but still only 4% of all claims across the scheme. The most construction claims fell under the category ‘Specialised Construction Activities’, followed by ‘Construction of Buildings’ and ‘Civil Engineering’.

Given the current challenging economic market due to COVID-19, R&D tax credit specialist firm, the Momentum Group, is urging all construction companies to review the current innovation they are applying throughout their processes, products or services, or simply something they are attempting to make better, to ensure they get what they deserve in terms of R&D Tax Credit support from Government.

Managing Director of Momentum Group, Tom Verner, commented, “We are facing a daunting economic outlook across the UK and construction companies need to consider all options in order to recover; and R&D Credit Tax relief has the potential to help many businesses across NI.

“The monetary value of R&D tax credits to construction companies could run into tens of thousands of pounds, which could benefit cash flow enormously at this time. This time next year, we would hope to see the HMRC statistics revealing more construction companies making successful claims.

“The UK Government has clearly identified that innovation is the key to driving economic recovery and we would urge all construction companies to consider their processes and see how R&D Tax Credits could help.

“The Momentum Group are specialists in this area, having successfully secured over £150million in tax benefits for our clients, and we are happy to be able to offer free claims advice to companies during this challenging time.�

To learn more about R&D Tax Credits available to construction companies and to calculate how much you could receive visit: https://www.momentumgroupni.com/