Finance Act 2000

1 (1) A company is entitled to R&D tax relief for an accounting period if—

(a) the company qualifies as a small or medium-sized enterprise in the period (see paragraph 2), and

(b) the company’s qualifying R&D expenditure (see paragraph 3) deductible in that period is not less than—

(i) £25,000, if the accounting period is a period of 12 months, or

(ii) such amount as bears to £25,000 the same proportion as the accounting period bears to 12 months.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) a company’s qualifying R&D expenditure is deductible in an accounting period if—

(a) it is allowable as a deduction in computing for tax purposes the profits for that period of a trade carried on by the company, or

(b) it would have been allowable as such a deduction had the company, at the time the expenditure was incurred, been carrying on a trade consisting of the activities in respect of which it was incurred.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(a) no account shall be taken of section 401 of the Taxes Act 1988 (pre-trading expenditure treated as incurred when trading begins).

(4) In relation to an accounting period beginning before and ending on or after 1st April 2000, the references in sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i) and (ii) to the accounting period shall be read as references to so much of it as falls on or after that date.