R&D Tax Credits · South East London
R&D tax credit claims in Lewisham Central
If your Lewisham Central company has spent money trying to resolve a technical problem that competent professionals could not readily solve, you may have an R&D claim worth up to 16.2% of the spend under the merged scheme, or more as a loss-making R&D-intensive company. We review eligibility free, then prepare and file for a fixed fee.
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 Lewisham Central
Limited companies in Lewisham Central 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 Lewisham Central, 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
What you get in Lewisham Central
No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Lewisham Central clients know the fee for r&d tax credits before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.
We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Lewisham Central get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to r&d tax credits.
We serve Lewisham Central 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 Lewisham Central and knows the file, so you are not re-explaining your business to a different helpdesk each time.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Lewisham Central comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of r&d tax credits: drafts go to Lewisham Central clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Lewisham Central
Lewisham Central is in South East London, within Lewisham, in the SE13 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hither Green | 0.4 mi | SE |
| Lewisham | 0.4 mi | N |
| Ladywell | 0.5 mi | W |
| Lee Green, Lewisham | 0.8 mi | E |
| Rushey Green | 0.8 mi | SW |
| Catford | 0.9 mi | SW |
| Lee, Greenwich | 0.9 mi | E |
| Catford Bridge | 1 mi | SW |
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.
Crypto records and reporting
HMRC treats cryptoassets as property. Swapping one token for another, spending crypto or gifting it are all disposals for Capital Gains Tax, and staking and lending rewards are income. Gains are computed under pooling rules with same-day and 30-day matching. From 2026 HMRC receives data from exchanges worldwide under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, so unreported activity is increasingly visible.
The 60-day property CGT return
Selling UK residential property that was not your main home for the whole period of ownership triggers a separate Capital Gains Tax return, due within 60 days of completion along with payment of the tax. This is in addition to the annual Self Assessment. The gain is taxed at 18% or 24% depending on your income band, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount.
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.
Allowable expenses
The expenses sole traders most often miss are home working costs, claimed by actual proportion or HMRC's flat rate, the business share of phone and internet, mileage at 45p for the first 10,000 business miles, and training that maintains existing skills. The ones most often claimed wrongly are commuting, entertaining customers and clothes that could be worn outside work.
Employer National Insurance
Since April 2025 employer National Insurance has been 15% on earnings above a £5,000 secondary threshold, a substantial increase for small employers. The Employment Allowance rose to £10,500 at the same time to soften it for the smallest businesses. Directors deciding their own salary weigh this cost against the Corporation Tax deduction a salary provides.
Questions
R&D Tax Credits questions from Lewisham Central
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 if HMRC opens an enquiry into an existing claim?
We review the claim, the narrative and the cost basis, tell you how robust it is, and quote a fixed fee for handling the enquiry before any work starts. Where a claim was overstated by a previous adviser, the best outcome is often an agreed reduction, and we say so rather than fight a losing position at your expense.
Can I claim for subcontracted work?
Under the merged scheme the company that decides to undertake the R&D and bears the risk generally claims, even if it subcontracts the work. Subcontractor costs are included at 65%. Overseas subcontractor and worker costs are largely excluded unless the conditions cannot be met in the UK. We apply the rules to your contracts.
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.
Do you have an office in Lewisham Central?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Lewisham Central and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for r&d tax credits is the same in Lewisham Central as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is r&d tax credits in Lewisham Central really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Lewisham Central pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.
Ready to fix your fee in Lewisham Central?
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.