UK R&D Tax Relief (Merged Scheme & ERIS)
HM Revenue & Customs · R&D tax credit
VariesMerged RDEC: 20% taxable credit on qualifying R&D. ERIS (loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs): 186% total deduction plus payable credit up to 14.5% of surrenderable loss
UK corporation-tax relief for R&D; loss-making R&D-intensive startups can surrender losses for a cash payable credit under ERIS.
Key terms
- Company must be chargeable to UK Corporation Tax and projects must seek an advance in science or technology
- ERIS requires R&D spend ≥30% of total expenditure (incl. connected companies) and a trading loss
- Some overseas expenditure restricted
- Check whether you must notify HMRC in advance of claiming; SMEs can request advance assurance
Eligibility
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Stages
- pre-seed, seed, series-a, growth
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- Yes
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Not eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- Cash benefit arrives after the accounting period
How to apply
Submit the additional information form and claim on your Company Tax Return (CT600); first-time claimants check the claim-notification rules.
- Benefit
- cash
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- —
- Credit validity
- —
- Deadline
- Rolling (claim with tax return)
- Status
- Open
Verified 2026-10-22 · source