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R&D Tax Incentive

Tax Transparency Measure

  • The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will soon be required to publish information about R&D companies and the R&D expenditure claimed by those companies, 2 years after the end of the financial year of the claim.
  • The first publication of this information is for R&D claimants that lodged a 2022 company tax return with a R&D Tax Offset and their income year began on or after 1 July 2021.
  • The ATO expects to publish this information in September 2024 and will then be publishing this information on an annual basis.
  • The ATO is publishing this information to improve public accountability for R&D claimants and to encourage voluntary compliance with the R&D program.
  • The information that the ATO is looking to first publish will be based on data from the 2022 company income tax return, including:
  • Name of the company claiming the R&D tax incentive
  • Australian business number (ABN) or Australian company number (ACN)
  • The company’s total expenditure on R&D (known as total notional deductions claimed – label Z in Part A of the R&D tax incentive schedule) less any feedstock adjustments (label B in Part B of the R&D tax incentive schedule).

Integrity Rules

  • The ATO has identified ongoing issues with a number of the integrity rules of the R&D tax program.
  • The ATO is seeking voluntary compliance with these and other integrity rules of the program and have highlighted and provided commentary on the following areas:
  • R&D expenditure to associates
  • Conducted for
  • Aggregated turnover
  • Overseas expenditure
  • Expenditure not at risk.

Joint Review of Claims

  • The Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and the ATO are conducting a joint compliance reviews of a random selection of R&D claims made for the 2022 tax year.
  • The purpose of this review is to:
  • Assess the eligibility of registered R&D activities and expenditure
  • Provide vital information on the integrity of the program
  • Inform the development of updated, contemporary risk indicators for use  in future integrity assurance activities.
  • The review commenced in October and is occurring alongside other integrity and compliance activities. It is expected to be completed by mid-2024.
  • Our fees to attend to any review activity conducted by the ATO can potentially be claimed under tax audit insurance if you have a policy in place.

Please contact your R&D tax advisor at Prime if you have any questions in relation to the above.

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