HMRC’s Corporate Intangibles and Research and Development manual has been updated to reflect a temporary extension to the available period in which to amend a claim to research and expenditure (R&D) tax relief. The extension applies only to businesses which have already restricted reimbursed expenditures as part of qualifying staff costs, as a result of an HMRC R&D Consultative Committee note stating that these expenditures could not be claimed. Amended R&D relief claims must be made by 31 January 2018.

To qualify for amendment under the revised guidance, the claim must have been submitted on or after 9 October 2014. Where companies have restricted their research and development relief claims as a result of guidance issued in a note of 8 October 2014, the Manual states that this procedure only applies to accounting periods which ended between 9 October 2014 and 31 January 2016.