Who is R&D For?
Many company developing novel products or services will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, without realising they might be able to get government assistance in the form of an R&D subsidiary through AusIndustry and the ATO.
Who is Eligible?
If you have a company and you are researching and developing a novel product or service, that is you are creating new knowledge, then you should consider applying for the R&D Tax Incentive.
Applicants need to self-assess their eligibility for the R&D Tax Incentive. As a self-assessment program, companies assess for themselves whether their activities satisfy the definition.
What Can You Get?
If you are eligible, you can get a 45% refundable tax offset for eligible companies with an aggregated turnover of less than $20 million per annum.
What Activities are Eligible?
Activities are eligible if they meet the definition of R&D activities. This includes activities whose outcome cannot be known or determined in advance on the basis of current knowledge, information or experience, but can only be determined by applying a systematic progression of work that: a) is based on principles of established science; and b) proceeds from hypothesis to experiment, observation and evaluation, and leads to logical conclusions.
Could the Outcomes Have Been Known in Advance?
The definition requires that the outcome of the experiments could not have been known or determined in advance on the basis of current knowledge, information or experience. This requirement will not be satisfied if: a) experiments merely confirm what is already known; or b) the outcome of the experiments could be deduced or determined by a competent professional in the field on the basis of current knowledge, information or experience.
Please also see:
https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/ausindustry-rd-tax-form-0