R&D Tax Incentive: The New Rules of the Game

The R&D Tax Incentive can be a critical source of funding for Australian startups and innovative businesses, helping them reinvest in the development of new products, processes and technologies. But successfully accessing the incentive is about more than simply identifying eligible R&D activities and costs — businesses also need to understand the changing landscape, manage risk and build the right practices into their day-to-day operations. This session will provide a practical overview of the R&D Tax Incentive and explore some of the key issues businesses should be considering when preparing and supporting their claims. We’ll cover: • Understanding the R&D Tax Incentive — a quick overview of how the incentive works, who can access it and what businesses need to consider when determining whether their activities and expenditure are eligible. • Recent Budget Announcements — what recent and proposed changes mean for innovative businesses, and what claimants should be thinking about as the R&D landscape continues to evolve. • Documentation & Substantiating Evidence — what good evidence looks like, why contemporaneous documentation matters, and how businesses can build a robust evidence trail that supports their claim and mitigates review or audit risk. • Company Culture — why successful R&D claims start well before the tax return. We’ll explore how the way a company plans, records and communicates its R&D can have a significant impact on the quality, consistency and defensibility of its claim. We will help you move beyond just completing an R&D claim and focus on building a strategic approach to support your R&D claim while minimising overall risk.