R&D tax relief for the agriculture sector

The agriculture and farming sector is constantly changing. Farming operations, for example, are becoming more sophisticated and famers are investing in various innovative projects for their buildings, equipment and new technology to meet the demands of their industry.

However in 2019, HMRC reported that businesses in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry were under-claiming R&D tax credits. Even though the number of R&D claims from businesses across all sectors is starting to grow, there are still a large number which are missing out on claiming tax relief on R&D projects which they may be entitled to receive.

What is R&D tax relief?

In 2000 the UK government introduced a scheme to encourage scientific and technological innovation. R&D tax credits allow companies that carry out qualifying R&D related to their trade to claim an extra corporation tax deduction for certain qualifying expenditure. The UK government have pledged to run R&D tax credits until 2032.

R&D tax relief claim – Whartons Nurseries

Easy R&D have processed hundreds of R&D tax relief claims since 2015. Wharton’s Nurseries is one of our agriculture clients to have successfully claimed.

Whartons Nurseries are a garden rose powerhouse cultivating 1.5 million plants each year, the largest wholesale grower in the UK. Paul Wharton, Director at Whartons Nurseries, explained about his company’s research and development.

“We had heard of the HMRC R&D tax credit scheme and thought it might apply to us. Through a recommendation by a friend, we started talking to Easy R&D. They quickly helped us shine a light on our business and realise the true extent of the R&D we had been carrying out. But nothing had been claimed back from HMRC.

Easy R&D’s input helped us make a large claim which resulted in a substantial tax repayment from HMRC.

This money is put back into R&D to help us grow the very best garden roses whilst retaining our leading position in the UK market.”

How Easy R&D can help

Easy R&D is on a mission to support innovative businesses by helping them to claim any tax relief they’re entitled to from the UK government’s R&D tax relief scheme. This helps to unlock resources to embed a culture of innovation.

We provide full end-to-end support to process claims, flexing around the needs of the client to minimise their time commitment.

If you’d like to enquire about R&D tax relief on any of your agriculture projects, you can speak to one of our experienced Consultants on 0800 195 7516 or submit an enquiry form for a free consultation.