R&D Tax Credits for Successful Software Claims: Lessons from Recent UK Tax Tribunal Cases

Analysis of two recent Tribunal claims on R&D tax credits to determine why one succeeded and one failed - both provide important clues for the preparation of successful R&D tax claims

R&D Tax Credits for Successful Software Claims: Lessons from Recent UK Tax Tribunal Cases
Photo by Karl Pawlowicz / Unsplash

There have been two recent Software Development tribunal cases that resulted in two very different outcomes: one decided in favour of the software company (Get Onbord Limited) and the other in favour of HMRC (Tills Plus Limited).

This provides a useful opportunity to compare the two cases to glean valuable insights into what makes a successful R&D tax credit claim for software projects.

Tale of Two Claims: Get Onbord's Success vs. Tills Plus's Failure

Both Get Onbord Limited (GOL) and Tills Plus Limited claimed SME R&D tax credit relief for software development projects. However, the outcomes were starkly different. GOL's appeal was allowed, while Tills Plus's was dismissed.

Let's examine why...?