R&D Tax Credits · North West
R&D tax credit claims in Chester
R&D tax credit claims for companies in Chester, starting with a free eligibility review that tells you honestly whether you have a claim. If you do, the full claim is £999 fixed: technical narrative, computation, the Additional Information Form and filing. The fee is published and the same in Chester as in every part of England.
from £999 · fixed, per claim
Next deadlines
- R&D claim deadline: 2 years after the end of the accounting period (and the pre-notification window of 6 months after the period for first-time claimants)
- Company tax return (CT600) due 12 months after your year end (a 31 December year end files by 31 December)
- Corporation Tax payment, 9 months and 1 day after your year end (a 31 December year end pays by 1 October)
- R&D claim deadline: 2 years after the end of the accounting period (and the pre-notification window of 6 months after the period for first-time claimants)
Who this is for
R&D Tax Credits for Chester
Limited companies in Chester that have tried to achieve an advance in science or technology and faced genuine uncertainty doing it: software firms building something that did not exist, manufacturers developing new processes or materials, engineering businesses solving problems off the standard path, and food, biotech and clean-tech companies with development spend to recover.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Eligibility review against the statutory definition of R&D for tax purposes, with a written yes or no
- Advance notification to HMRC within six months of the period end for first-time and lapsed claimants
- Technical narrative for each project: the scientific or technological uncertainty, the advance sought and how it was resolved
- Qualifying expenditure computed: staff costs, subcontractors, externally provided workers, software, consumables and data
- The Additional Information Form completed and submitted before the CT600 is filed
- Claim entered on the CT600 and the relief or payable credit tracked through to HMRC's payment
How it works
R&D Tax Credits from Chester, step by step
Tell us your situation
A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.
Fixed fee in writing
You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.
Send records, review the draft
Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.
We file, you get the receipts
Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.
Why IGI
Why Chester businesses file with IGI
One fixed fee for r&d tax credits in Chester, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.
Nothing for Chester is left to the last week. Each deadline relevant to r&d tax credits is tracked from the day you join, with the next four shown on every page we send you.
We serve Chester remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for r&d tax credits.
A named person handles your r&d tax credits from Chester and knows the file, so you are not re-explaining your business to a different helpdesk each time.
We explain r&d tax credits in the words Chester business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.
Nothing is filed for Chester until you have reviewed and approved it. You see the draft, you ask questions, you sign off, then we submit and send you the receipt.
Local facts
About Chester
Chester is in North West, in the CH1 postcode district, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Caer-Lleon | 0.1 mi | SW |
| Bars, The | 0.4 mi | E |
| The Bars | 0.4 mi | E |
| Newtown, Cheshire West and Chester | 0.4 mi | NE |
| Dee Hills Park | 0.5 mi | E |
| Queen's Park, Cheshire West and Chester | 0.5 mi | SE |
| Garden Lane | 0.6 mi | NW |
| Handbridge | 0.6 mi | S |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Switching accountants
You can switch accountant at any point in the year. The new firm requests clearance and your records from the old one, which cannot withhold your own documents though it may hold its own working papers until its fees are settled. Agent authorisations with HMRC and Companies House are transferred, and the next deadline is picked up without a gap.
Closing a company
Voluntary strike-off is available only to solvent companies. One that owes money it cannot pay needs a creditors' voluntary liquidation through a licensed insolvency practitioner, and directors who dissolve an insolvent company face personal consequences. For a solvent company the process takes three to four months from filing the DS01, with notice to creditors and shareholders within seven days.
Dormant companies
Companies formed to protect a name or hold a future business are dormant but not exempt: Companies House still expects dormant accounts within nine months of the year end and a confirmation statement annually with its £50 fee, and HMRC must be told the company is dormant or it will demand Corporation Tax returns. The filings are short, but the penalties for missing them are the same as for a trading company.
The trading and property allowances
Not every small income needs a tax return. The trading allowance exempts the first £1,000 of self-employment or casual income and the property allowance does the same for rental income, each measured on gross receipts. They cannot be combined with rent-a-room relief on the same income, and claiming the allowance means giving up the expense deduction for that source.
Employer National Insurance
Employers pay National Insurance at 15% on each employee's earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, following the April 2025 changes. The Employment Allowance offsets up to £10,500 of this for eligible employers, which for a small team often removes the liability entirely, but companies where the director is the only employee do not qualify.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Workplace pension compliance is part of payroll, not separate from it. Each pay period the payroll assesses who is eligible, calculates employer and employee contributions on qualifying earnings between the lower and upper thresholds, and sends the contribution file to the scheme. The minimum total is 8%, and many employers choose to contribute more as a recruitment advantage.
Record keeping
Record keeping is a legal obligation with a penalty of up to £3,000 for failure, but its real value is in making every other filing cheaper and more defensible. Keep invoices, receipts, bank statements, mileage logs and any HMRC correspondence, digitally if you like, for five years after the relevant filing deadline for individuals and six years for companies and VAT.
Questions
R&D Tax Credits questions from Chester
Does claiming R&D relief increase my chance of an enquiry?
HMRC now checks a far higher proportion of claims than before 2023, so any claim carries some risk of questions. A claim with a clear technical narrative, costs that reconcile to the accounts and payroll, and a named competent professional behind it is answered quickly. We write claims to that standard.
How far back can I claim?
A claim can be made up to two years after the end of the accounting period, by amending the CT600. If you have two open periods both can be claimed. The notification rule applies to the later periods if you have not claimed recently, so the two-year window and the six-month window interact; we check both.
What is the advance notification requirement?
Companies that have not claimed in the previous three accounting periods must notify HMRC of their intention to claim within six months of the end of the period. Miss it and the claim for that period is lost entirely. We check your position at the eligibility stage and file the notification as part of the service.
What is the Additional Information Form?
Since August 2023 every R&D claim must be accompanied by a form submitted to HMRC before the CT600, giving project descriptions, cost breakdowns, the named senior officer responsible and any agent involved. Claims without it are removed from the return. We complete and submit it as part of the £999 fee.
How long does a claim take to pay out?
HMRC aims to process 85% of claims within 40 days but the compliance campaign has lengthened this for many. Relief reducing a Corporation Tax bill takes effect when the return is processed; payable credits are paid to the company's bank account. We track the claim and chase HMRC if it stalls.
Why do you charge a fixed fee rather than a percentage?
Percentage fees reward inflating the claim, which is exactly what HMRC's campaign targets. A fixed fee means our only interest is a claim that is right. For most small company claims £999 is also considerably cheaper than the 15% to 30% of benefit that contingent advisers charge.
Which deadlines matter most for r&d tax credits?
The next four dates that apply to r&d tax credits are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Chester clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.
How do I get started from Chester?
Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for r&d tax credits. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Chester clients are set up within a day.
One message from Chester, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.