Live claim estimate

Model the claim before the call.

Start with the period, qualifying spend, company position, R&D intensity, and evidence readiness. The calculator gives you a useful planning number, then shows what still needs a specialist review.

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Accounting period start

Current periods use the merged R&D expenditure credit rules, with ERIS for qualifying loss-making R&D intensive SMEs.

Has the qualifying R&D activity been checked?

A proper claim starts with the technical problem, advance sought, uncertainty, and work done to resolve it.

Qualifying R&D expenditure

Staff, consumables, software, subcontracted work, and other costs must be checked against the scheme rules.

Total relevant expenditure

Used to estimate whether R&D intensity may reach the 30% ERIS threshold.

How clean is the cost evidence?

Corporation Tax assumption

Is the company loss-making?

Any possible restrictions?

Additional Information Form readiness

Estimated merged scheme net benefit

£15,000

Based on a 20% expenditure credit, reduced by your selected Corporation Tax assumption.

Gross credit£20,000

R&D intensity33%

ERIS signalReview

ERIS upper estimate£26,970

Claim readinessRough signal only

Qualifying spend entered£100,000

Before you trust the number, check:

The technical R&D activity is not confirmed yet. A claim needs qualifying uncertainty, not just product work or normal improvement.
The cost base is not evidence-backed. Staff time, software, consumables, subcontractors, and cloud/data costs need clean apportionment.
Restrictions may apply. Grants, subcontractors, overseas activity, connected parties, and customer-funded work can change the result.
The Additional Information Form is not ready. HMRC expects project and cost detail before, or on the same day as, the Corporation Tax Return.

This is an indicative estimate. It does not test every eligibility condition, surrenderable loss restriction, PAYE cap, overseas restriction, subsidy issue, connected-party rule, or evidence requirement.

Check this with EasyRND

Use it before you spend time on the claim

It helps founders, finance teams, and accountants understand the order of magnitude before spending time on a full claim review. The result is a planning estimate, not a filing-ready answer.

The estimate is only as good as the evidence

Eligibility, cost categorisation, connected subcontractors, overseas work, grants, PAYE caps, surrenderable losses, and technical evidence can all change the amount.

What a proper estimate needs

The number is only one part of the claim.

A good R&D tax calculator should not pretend the answer is just spend multiplied by a rate. The valuable part is forcing the right questions before anyone files anything with HMRC.

Accounting period

Current periods can be estimated under the merged scheme and ERIS. Earlier periods may involve old SME or RDEC rules and need separate treatment.

Qualifying activity

The work needs a technical advance, real uncertainty, and evidence of the attempts made. Normal product work is not automatically R&D.

Cost apportionment

Staff time, software, consumables, subcontractors, and cloud/data costs need to be connected to qualifying projects, not dropped in as a broad company total.

Company position

Profit, loss, Corporation Tax rate, surrenderable losses, and R&D intensity affect whether the merged scheme or ERIS estimate is the right starting point.

Restrictions

Grants, overseas work, connected parties, subcontracting, customer funding, and PAYE caps can all move the claim away from the simple calculator output.

AIF evidence

The Additional Information Form needs project and cost detail. If that evidence is weak, the calculator should push you toward review, not confidence.

Why check the estimate with EasyRND?

EasyRND says it has helped more than 1,100 UK businesses, supported 2,500+ client tax claims, and delivered over £100m in R&D claim benefit since 2014. Its team combines qualified ATT and CTA tax expertise with R&D consultants and technical report writers.

Use this calculator to get the rough shape of the claim. Use EasyRND's free assessment to check whether the activity, costs, evidence, and compliance route hold together.

Official sources used

Local copies are archived in research/sources for audit and content development.

Next useful reads

R&D Tax Credit UK

Understand what a claim is, who can use it, and how current rules work.

Read the guide

R&D Tax Credit Specialist

Know when a specialist is worth it and what they should verify.

Compare support

Additional Information Form

Prepare project and cost evidence before submitting a claim.

Check AIF evidence