Recover up to 27% of your qualifying R&D spend. Sleek manages your full HMRC claim from eligibility review to CT600 submission. Pay nothing until HMRC pays you.
Sleek charges a success fee of 15% plus VAT, payable only when HMRC releases your claim. There’s no upfront cost, and we refund our fee in full if your claim is rejected.
You pay nothing until HMRC pays you. Most R&D firms charge upfront, win or lose, with non-refundable fees that leave you out of pocket if your claim doesn't succeed.
If HMRC opens an enquiry, we defend your claim at no extra cost. Other providers typically charge £200 to £250 per hour, with most enquiries running 15 to 20 hours of advisor time.
Of your HMRC tax benefit, with a £1,495 + VAT minimum on smaller claims. The fee covers your entire claim end to end, including eligibility review, technical narrative, Additional Information Form and CT600 submission. No add-ons, no scope creep.
If your claim is deemed invalid, we refund every penny of our fee, including the minimum. We take that risk because we only submit claims we're confident HMRC will accept.
| Scheme | Who it applies to | Net benefit on qualifying R&D spend |
|---|---|---|
| Merged scheme | Most UK limited companies, profit-making or loss-making | 15% to 16.2% |
| ERIS (Enhanced R&D Intensive Support) | Loss-making SMEs spending at least 30% of total expenditure on qualifying R&D | Up to 27% |
For accounting periods starting before 1 April 2024, different rates may apply under the old SME or RDEC schemes. We assess your claim under whichever scheme is correct for your period.
We review your projects against HMRC's technological uncertainty test before any work begins, so you only proceed if your claim is genuinely viable.
Our specialists draft the technical report HMRC expects, translating your R&D work into the language and structure that inspectors assess claims against.
We identify every qualifying cost across staff, subcontractors, EPWs, consumables, software and cloud, then calculate your relief under the correct scheme.
We complete and submit the mandatory AIF on your behalf, including all required project, cost and personnel details.
We handle the full filing process, amending your Corporation Tax return and submitting everything HMRC needs in one clean package.
If HMRC opens an enquiry into your claim, we represent you and respond on your behalf at no additional cost.
An R&D tax credit claim is the process of submitting a formal application to HMRC to recover a portion of the costs your business spent on qualifying research and development.
The scheme is a UK government incentive designed to reward companies investing in scientific or technological innovation, and eligible claims can return up to 27% of qualifying expenditure as either a Corporation Tax reduction or a cash payment for loss-making companies.
Almost any limited company solving genuine technical uncertainty can qualify, from software developers and engineering firms to manufacturers and biotech startups.
You likely qualify if your business has:
Made significant improvements to existing products or systems where the outcome wasn’t obvious
Built bespoke internal tools or platforms to solve a problem off-the-shelf software couldn’t fix
Trialled new materials, formulations, manufacturing methods or engineering approaches
Spent time and money on projects where the technical solution wasn’t certain at the start
Employed staff, subcontractors or external workers to carry out any of the above
If you’re unsure whether your work qualifies, we’ll tell you before any work begins.
Claim relief on salaries, wages, employer NICs and pension contributions for employees directly engaged in your qualifying R&D projects, including a fair share for those partially involved.
Recover up to 65% of payments made to unconnected subcontractors and externally provided workers when their work directly supports your qualifying R&D activity. Connected parties are treated differently, and Sleek will advise on how the rules apply to your setup.
Claim tax relief on materials transformed or used up during the R&D process, including raw materials, water, fuel and power directly consumed by your qualifying activity.
Recover the cost of software licences and development tools used directly in carrying out your R&D, including specialist platforms and engineering applications.
Claim relief on cloud computing services, hosting and data licences acquired specifically for use in qualifying R&D, a qualifying category since April 2023.
Recover costs associated with designing, building and testing prototypes as part of your R&D, even when the prototype is not intended for commercial sale.
You have three realistic options for handling an R&D tax credit claim. Each comes with very different levels of expertise, support and financial risk.
Sleek combines R&D specialists with full enquiry defence and a fee model that means you never pay for a failed claim.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Sleek | Claiming yourself | General accountant |
| Technical narrative | Built by R&D specialists in HMRC's expected format and structure | You write it. No specialist input or HMRC-aligned structure | Usually generic. CT600 filing is standard, but R&D technical narrative is rarely a core service |
| Enquiry defence | Included as standard. We represent you at no extra cost | None. You respond to HMRC questions alone | Typically charged separately, often £200 to £250 per hour |
| Fee model | 15% + VAT success fee, payable only when HMRC pays. Fee refunded if rejected | No fees, but full personal time and risk if it goes wrong | Upfront or fixed, payable regardless of outcome |
HMRC aims to process most claims within 40 working days, though this assumes no enquiries or follow-up requests. Complex claims, ERIS submissions and any claim that triggers HMRC questions take longer. Including the time we spend reviewing your projects and preparing the technical narrative, the full process from initial call to payout typically runs three to six months.
We’ll give you a realistic timeline during your initial call based on the complexity of your claim.
