When your research tax credit will arrive
Enter your year end, what the R&D cost and when you'll file to see how much cash the claim brings, and on which dates.
Your answer
Enter your year end, the R&D costs, total costs and profit or loss.
About this calculator
For limited companies claiming R&D tax relief for years starting on or after 1 April 2024. It works out the claim the same way as our R&D tax relief calculator, then shows when the money reaches you.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
A profitable company feels the claim as a smaller Corporation Tax bill, due 9 months and 1 day after the year end. The credit pays the bill first; anything left over is paid in cash.
A loss-making company gets cash, paid once HMRC has processed the return. HMRC aims to process 85% of R&D claims within 40 days, so we count 40 days from the day you file.
The order matters: tell HMRC you're claiming within 6 months of the year end if it's your first claim in 3 years, send the additional information form, then file the return with the claim in it.
Worked example
Your R&D claim is worth about £30,780, as £30,780 in cash around 9 November 2027.
12 months to 31 March 2027 · return filed 30 September 2027 · paid 40 days after filing · no HMRC enquiry · PAYE cap not applied
| Year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 | |
|---|---|
| Claim value: the merged scheme benefit, from our R&D tax relief calculator | £30,780 |
| Of which: off this year's Corporation Tax (the credit pays the bill first) | £0 |
| Of which: paid to the company in cash | £30,780 |
| Claim notification: 6 months after the year end | 30 September 2027 |
| Additional information form, then the return: 6 months after the year end (due within 12) | 30 September 2027 |
| Corporation Tax due: 9 months and 1 day after the year end | 1 January 2028 |
| Credit paid: the return's date + 40 days (HMRC aims to process 85% of claims in 40 days) | £30,780 on 9 November 2027 |
| Cash effect, all dates together | £30,780 |
Worked out with our R&D tax relief calculator's figures (financial year 2026 Corporation Tax rates), the Corporation Tax and return deadlines, and HMRC's published aim for processing R&D claims.
Questions people ask
How long does HMRC take to pay an R&D tax credit?
HMRC aims to process 85% of claims within 40 days of the return. If it checks a claim more closely, it can take months, so don't plan on the money arriving the day it's due.
Can I pay less Corporation Tax before the claim is in?
We assume you pay the full bill if the return isn't filed by the payment date, and the credit comes back later. Filing by 9 months after the year end lets the credit cut the bill on time.
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