R&D Tax Relief within structural engineering
In recent years there has been significant movement within the construction industry to accommodate social needs, such as sustainability, and an increased demand for affordable residences. Much of this need has fallen on structural engineers, seeing professionals within the space pushing toward developing more efficient structural framework systems and construction methods to allow for the development of essential buildings with reduced embodied carbon, and for these buildings to be built at an increased rate. Throughout these endeavours, there is plenty of scope for companies to advance in delivering improvements from a technological perspective, and this is where work eligible for the R&D tax relief scheme is likely to emerge.
Structural engineers play a vital role in the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure. They are responsible for ensuring that the structural frames of buildings can support the weight of the surrounding structure as well as any external forces that are expected. Although the scope of this can vary, typically this includes the initial planning steps, a risk assessment, structural design, load calculations, material selection, and construction oversight. Usually, we would expect to see innovation manifest across various stages, as within the built environment sector, it is essential that new ideas are completely integrated and incorporated into the construction processes.
Areas for R&D tax relief within structural engineering:
Prefabricated construction: This involves assembling building components that have been manufactured in a factory, before transporting them to the construction site for final assembly. Using this method, enables the construction process to be streamlined, offering significant time and cost savings, whilst ensuring higher quality control compared to traditional building techniques. Although the concept and use of prefabricated construction techniques are not novel, there has been significant work in recent years to expand upon what can be achieved with prefabricated modules, and in refining their implementation within practical construction environments.
Material Selection: This is a critical process that involves choosing the most appropriate materials to ensure the safety, durability, and efficiency of a structure. Engineers must consider factors such as the material's strength, weight, durability, and cost, as well as its environmental impact and availability. Common materials include steel, concrete, timber, and composites, each offering distinct advantages and limitations. The choice of material is also dependent upon the specific requirements of the project, considering load-bearing capacity, environmental conditions, and aesthetics. Within this, there is room for innovation to facilitate the incorporation of more sustainable or affordable materials, within the structural design, to reduce both embodied carbon and construction costs whilst still achieving the requirements of the given context.
Building within increasingly urban environments: As the built environment develops and grows in density within modern cities, professionals within the field have been forced to develop new methods and techniques to meet rising commercial and residential demands in urban locations. Innovation is required to allow for the development of spaces within built-up areas, often requiring novel structural frameworks to leverage structural support in instances where this would not historically be possible. Within the UK, there is also a particular focus on protecting heritage buildings. This often requires engineers, to develop methods of restoring buildings from different eras of architecture and bring them in line with modern construction standards, making them habitable whilst respecting their heritage design and features.
R&D Tax Relief for Structural Engineering
In its essence, the R&D Tax Relief scheme is an expenditure-based relief that looks to reward companies for investing in projects that seek to progress the knowledge and capabilities within a business’s respective field, from a technological perspective. This means that companies are eligible to receive tax relief based on the costs incurred on any qualifying projects within the following categories:
· Staff costs (staff time)
· Subcontractor costs
· Externally provided workers
· Consumables (wasted materials)
· Specialist technical software e.g. structural modelling software
Claims are submitted via an in-depth report that outlines both; why the work undertaken qualifies as R&D for tax purposes, as per the relevant guidelines, and additionally, applies costs to the work to total the claimable amount.
RCK is well placed to aid companies in the field with the complication of this report due to our technical team’s ability to understand and articulate structural engineering projects and efficiently collect costs to then be applied to the qualifying. This leads to a final submission package that is reviewed by our internal compliance team before it is submitted to HMRC.
Get in touch to book a no-obligation discovery call and find out if you are eligible to claim under the R&D tax relief scheme.
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