How much should UK scale-ups invest in R&D: guidance for CFOs and founders
Alex Hannaway
September 24, 2025
The R&D Scheme
BOOK A MEETING
An agile platform to adapt to changing regulations. A team of R&D tax claim and sector specialist: ex-HMRC, ATT qualified, AML trained, AML registered and supervised by HMRC.
Book a Meeting
The EmpowerRD Blog
Insights and ideas to enrich your innovation, navigate the complex funding landscape, and enhance the quality of your R&D tax credit claims.
R&D tax relief statistics 2025: claims fall 26% while innovation spend holds steady
HMRC’s latest R&D tax credit statistics for 2025 reveal a mixed picture. The total number of claims has dropped sharply, yet UK businesses are still spending heavily on R&D. The statistics cover the 2023-24 year, which marks the first full year impacted by the April 2023 rate reforms and the introduction of the Additional Information Form (AIF). These measures have strengthened compliance, but they’ve also raised new barriers for SMEs that innovate. Claim numbers continue to fall This is the ...
Elsbury v The Information Commissioner: Tribunal Orders HMRC to Reveal Its Use of AI
Stuart Millar
September 22, 2025
Recent R&D tax relief scheme changes require understanding to ensure future claims are successful.
Latest posts
Missed your R&D claim notification? HMRC offers a lifeline
Alex Hannaway
April 29, 2025
If you thought you’d lost out on claiming R&D tax credits because you’d missed the deadline for submitting the Claim Notification Form (CNF), some good
HMRC’s new guidance on subsidised and subcontracted R&D – What SMEs need to know
Alex Hannaway
April 10, 2025
On 27 February 2025, HMRC finally updated its guidance on subcontracted and subsidised R&D, addressing the long-standing confusion for SMEs claiming under the SME and
Spring Statement 2025: Key takeaways for innovative companies
Alex Hannaway
March 27, 2025
Delivered minutes after the OBR downgraded growth forecasts this year from 2% to 1%, yesterday’s Spring Statement was about restoring some economic credibility and getting
Mastering R&D tax audits: How to help clients navigate HMRC scrutiny
Alex Hannaway
March 12, 2025
Scrutiny of R&D tax credit claims has intensified recently, with HMRC reviewing 20% of all R&D claims in 2024, which is 5 times more than
5 essential steps for SMEs to navigate the Merged R&D Tax Credit Scheme
Alex Hannaway
March 3, 2025
The R&D tax credit landscape has changed, and SMEs need to act fast. For accounting periods on or after 1 April 2024, the SME and
5 Tools to help you record and optimise your R&D tax credit claims
Alex Hannaway
February 7, 2025
For innovative companies, R&D tax credits can be the key to unlocking growth, but the claims process can be complicated. Tracking qualifying activities, managing costs,