WhisperClaims, an award-winning UK-based R&D tax fintech company, has today announced its latest support offering to enable accountants to submit effective claims compliant with HMRC's new Additional Information Form (AIF), which comes into effect 1 August 2023. Initially proposed to apply to claim periods starting on or after 1st April 2023, following the Spring Budget, the new requirement affects all claims submitted on or after 1st August 2023, placing additional demands for information on claimants and accountants.

The change of effective date means that all claims submitted after 1st August will need to be submitted with an AIF, regardless of claim dates or when the claim was prepared.

Claimant companies will be required to give the HMRC more information than ever before and advisors will need to update their claim preparation and submission processes in order to ensure that they gather all the required information at the correct time and submit the form seamlessly, or risk the claim being rejected by HMRC. While the new regulations have the laudable intent of curbing fraudulent R&D claims, they will likely discourage bona fide innovators and accountancy firms from making legitimate claims if they feel unable to meet the additional administrative demands of the AIF.

WhisperClaims is determined to make this transition as easy as possible for accountants by providing them with a robust and compliant framework for preparing genuine R&D tax relief claims. It has evolved its software so that it ensures that outputs are compatible with the Additional Information Form and that accountants are prompted to gather all the information required in advance. Its new software offering includes:

1. Adding questions to work out how many project descriptions will be needed for the Additional Information Form
2. Adapting how WhisperClaims gathers the costs of the projects to make sure that accountants can output the costs in an AIF compatible format
3. Tailored questions to cover other points HMRC ask for in the Additional Information Form, including costs for qualifying indirect activities
4. Updating WhisperClaims’ technical report output to reflect these changes
5. Creating a new output containing just the information that HMRC asks for in the order and format required for the Additional Information Form, to enable quick and easy transfer into the form itself

HMRC is still expecting accountants to submit reports, but the arrival of the AIF has created an additional administrative burden and will therefore increase the associated costs of putting a claim together. WhisperClaims’ software will mitigate this additional admin overhead for accountants, and make sure they can continue to deliver an effective and compliant R&D tax service to their clients whilst still maintaining margins.

Mike Dean, Managing Director at WhisperClaims commented, “Accountants need to be aware of these new regulations. And, in order to minimise the increased costs of administration of the scheme, they will need to implement appropriate new business processes. Their operational costs are going to skyrocket if they are not working with technology to support them through this new process.

“Backed by WhisperClaims' technology and support, accountants can continue to feel empowered to submit compliant R&D tax claims. And, with legislation continuously evolving, accountants have a prime opportunity to carve themselves out as the trusted advisor for R&D tax relief claims.

“A genuine R&D claim still offers significant tax benefits to businesses, and with the AIF coming into play in August, many businesses will be turning to their accountants for advice. It's now more crucial than ever that accountants equip themselves with appropriate technology and support to meet this challenge. ” he concluded.