Technical Sections: Project selection and justification

📖 Estimated reading time: 4–6 minutes

This section helps us understand who selected the R&D projects in your claim, and why they qualify under HMRC’s definition of R&D. You don’t need to write a long explanation here. Just give us clear, bullet-point answers so our experts can build the full technical narrative for submission.

🔍 Why this section matters

HMRC requires evidence that your claim is built on an informed, competent assessment. This section demonstrates:

• Who assessed and selected the R&D projects
  
• Why they were qualified to make that judgment
  
• How you identified which projects involved qualifying R&D
  

Showing that your claim was built on sound technical reasoning helps HMRC trust its validity and reduces your risk of enquiry.

✅ Who can complete this section?

The person responsible for selecting projects should be what HMRC calls a competent professional, someone familiar with the relevant field, aware of current industry knowledge, and able to distinguish genuine R&D from routine work.

This could include:

• A technically skilled founder
  
• A CTO or Head of Engineering
  
• A lead developer or product engineer with relevant experience
  

What matters is their ability to make a well-informed assessment of the work — not their job title.

🛠️ What to include in your answer

Keep this section clear and concise. You should explain:

• Who selected the projects
  
• Why they were qualified to make that decision
  
• How you determined the work involved a scientific or technological advance and uncertainty
  

You can also include a brief note on whether any formal review process was used — or if projects were selected based on their technical complexity, experimental nature, or involvement of trial-and-error development.