UK and International Tax news

Research & Development and Advance Assurance Update

Thursday 28th May 2026

HMRC have confirmed further details for the introduction of a targeted R&D advance assurance service for all small and medium sized enterprises as previously announced in Agent Update 138.

Advance assurance is a voluntary service that allows the claimant company to send to HMRC details of its R&D activities. This is done before claiming R&D tax relief in its corporation tax return.

HMRC offers two types of advance assurance, being a new targeted advance assurance service – the advance assurance pilot, and an existing full claim advance assurance service

Before an application for advance assurance is made, the applicant must choose the right type of assurance service and meet the relevant criteria to use it. A company cannot apply under both services for the same period or project.

The targeted advance assurance service has been introduced as a pilot. The pilot will run until May 2027 and gives eligible small or medium sized enterprises clarity on specific complex or high-risk areas of an R&D tax relief claim, before a claim is made.

Applicants will be able to seek assurance on one of four issues during the pilot, which have been chosen from stakeholder feedback as the most complex or high-risk aspects of an R&D, being

  • whether the project meets the definition of R&D for tax purposes
  • whether overseas expenditure qualifies for relief
  • which party can claim relief for contracted-out expenditure
  • whether the company qualifies for exemption from the PAYE or National Insurance contribution cap

Up to two applications for targeted advance assurance may be made. Each application can only cover one project and one assurance area of R&D relief. Assurance on another project or area will require a separate application.

HMRC will continue to provide a full claim advance assurance service to SMEs claiming R&D relief for the first time. This service covers the entire claim, and the advance assurance granted will cover the first three accounting periods only.

If you would like more detail on the above, please contact Keith Rushen on 0207 486 2378.

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