Tax Return Lodgment

This is Part 5 of the step-by-step guide for companies seeking information on how to claim the R&D Tax Incentive. You can read the full guide about How to Apply R&D Tax Incentive here. In this article, you will learn about:

• How to include R&D Expenditure in your Tax Return.
• How to prepare a Claim Letter.
• Future R&D Tax Incentive claims opportunities.

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Tax Return Lodgement

The R&D Schedule is an appendix to your business Tax Return. Normally, it’s the final piece of the puzzle before your lodgement. That’s why having one team overseeing the entire process is critical. It’s a very common mistake to overlook the R&D Schedule appendix when it is handed over to a different accounting team, which is only responsible for the Tax Return.

This Appendix is your company’s only chance to show the ATO how much eligible R&D expenditure your business had, so the cash refund can be processed, and you can receive an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Still, when a client prefers to lodge the Tax Return through their own accounting team, then we provide the Claim Letter.

R&D Claim Letter

The Claim Letter is a summary where we provide to our clients with details:

• Eligible R&D activities for the period
• Related Costs
• Expected Offset/Benefit
• Methodology

It’s important to note that our R&D Tax Incentive claim process takes four weeks to determine how much your business is eligible to receive. It’s not the timeframe for when your business will receive the benefit.

The timeframe for the cash refund landing in your bank account depends on when you lodge your Tax Return and, ultimately, how long the ATO takes to process it (usually 30 calendar days – as a general standard). Therefore, the sooner you complete the R&D Schedule, the sooner you can lodge the Tax Return.

Interestingly, the R&D Tax Incentive claim process doesn’t end when you lodge the Tax Return. Once you lodge, you should always come back and start fresh for the new Financial Year.

This is because the R&DTI is a benefit your business can claim multiple times, for as many years as your projects last. That is why BridgePoint Group includes a sixth step in this R&DTI process: Ongoing Documentation.

Learn more about BridgePoint Group’s R&D Tax Incentive service.

Click here to learn about Step Six: Ongoing Documentation.

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If you would like to engage an R&D Tax Incentive specialist to determine whether or not your company qualifies for the R&DTI then please reach out to Alan Baghdasarayan, Government Grants & Incentives Director at BridgePoint Group who will provide a free 30-minute consultation.