R&D Tax Incentive
The Incentives These Sessions Are About
Every Invention Cafe® session comes back to one question: how does a business turn eligible R&D into tax relief it can properly substantiate and claim? Here is a short orientation to the main R&D tax regimes covered across the 2027 programme's seven countries. Choose your country below, then explore the matching workshop.
Australia
R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI)
A self-assessed programme jointly administered by AusIndustry and the ATO. Eligible entities register their R&D activities each year and claim a refundable or non-refundable tax offset depending on turnover. The value is in getting the activity definitions and the contemporaneous records right.
View Australia Workshops →Canada
SR&ED programme
The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) programme is Canada's largest single source of federal support for R&D, offering tax credits for eligible expenditure. The CRA tests claims against technological uncertainty and expects supporting documentation.
View Canada Workshops →Ireland
R&D Tax Credit
Ireland's R&D Tax Credit rewards qualifying R&D expenditure, assessed against a science test. Claims are made through the Revenue Commissioners and require contemporaneous record-keeping.
View Ireland Workshops →New Zealand
R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI)
New Zealand's R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI) is a tax credit for eligible R&D expenditure, administered by Inland Revenue against defined eligibility criteria.
View New Zealand Workshops →Singapore
Enterprise Innovation Scheme
Singapore's Enterprise Innovation Scheme provides enhanced tax deductions for qualifying R&D and innovation expenditure under the Income Tax Act, administered by IRAS.
View Singapore Workshops →United Kingdom
Merged R&D scheme
HMRC has consolidated the previous SME and RDEC schemes into a single relief for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, with enhanced support (ERIS) for R&D-intensive loss-making SMEs. Claims require an Additional Information Form.
View United Kingdom Workshops →United States
Federal R&D credit (IRC §41)
A credit for increasing research activities, tested against the four-part test and supported by qualified research expenses, including wages, supplies, and certain contract research costs. Many US states run their own parallel credits with their own rules.
View United States Workshops →This page is general information, not advice, and rules change. Check your own position with a qualified adviser before acting.
Want to talk through your own claim rather than wait for a session?
Book a Call to Discuss Your ClaimAnswers at a Glance
- What is an R&D tax incentive?
- A government programme that reduces the after-tax cost of eligible research and development. Depending on the country and the claimant's position it takes the form of a tax offset, a deduction uplift, a credit against tax payable, or a cash refund. Each regime defines eligible activity and eligible expenditure differently.
- Does Invention Cafe® prepare claims?
- The sessions are educational and discussion-led. Claim preparation is done separately by Swanson Reed, the specialist R&D tax firm that runs Invention Cafe®. You can book a call with the team to discuss your own position.
- Which regime does a session cover?
- Australian sessions focus on the R&D Tax Incentive and AusIndustry expectations. US sessions focus on the federal credit under IRC §41 and relevant state credits. The London session covers HMRC's merged scheme and ERIS, and the other October 2027 sessions each cover their own country's R&D incentive (Canada's SR&ED, Ireland's R&D Tax Credit, Singapore's Enterprise Innovation Scheme, New Zealand's RDTI).
Related Resource
Looking for how courts and tribunals have actually decided R&D tax disputes? Swanson Reed publishes a searchable case-law database at rdtaxcases.com.