Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the average time taken to investigate alleged fraudulent research and development tax relief claims on small businesses.

HMRC is committed to tackling error and fraud whilst also ensuring the R&D tax relief claims process is straightforward for genuine claimants.

At Autumn Budget, HMRC published the Approach to Research and Development tax Reliefs for 2023 to 2024, which shows that the average time to complete a compliance check for 2023-24 is 246 days. The length of a compliance check will depend on a range of factors, including the complexity of the claim. The additional information required upfront to support claims is being used to inform HMRC’s risking of claims and compliance approach.