HMRC confirms companies that missed their claim notification deadline will be able to claim from 1 April 2027.Â
In the 2026 Budget statement the government announced it was repealing the claim notification form (CNF) requirement for R&D Tax Relief claims.
This change will take effect on 1 April 2027.
Under the current requirement, certain companies, including those that haven’t claimed before or in the last three years, must submit a CNF to HMRC within six months of the end of their accounting period. If they miss this deadline, they cannot claim R&D Tax Relief for work conducted in that period.
The removal of the CNF is good news for UK innovators. But the government’s original announcement left us with an important question: could a company that had missed its CNF deadline simply wait until 1 April 2027 and claim then?
Earlier this week, we got our answer, thanks to an inquiry from Claimer.
Check If You Need to File a CNF
More Good News for R&D Tax Claimants
HMRC’s policy team confirmed that companies that missed their CNF deadline could file their claim on or after 1 April 2027. This is as long as the claim is filed before the R&D claim deadline, which is two years after the end of the accounting period the claim relates to.
The tax authority told Claimer: “In short: the date that counts is the date the claim is made, not the accounting period it relates to. If a company missed its CNF but is still within the normal time limit, it can make its R&D claim on or after 1 April 2027 without a CNF.”
HMRC also confirmed that claims made before 1 April 2027 but were invalid because they lacked a CNF would remain invalid. However, companies in this position will be able to submit a new claim for the same period from 1 April.
Again, that’s assuming they’re before the claim deadline.
April Showers (of Claims)
As I speculated in my Budget blog, this news means we’re likely to see a deluge of claims in April next year. That could lengthen HMRC’s processing times.
HMRC aims to process 85% of claims within 40 days of receipt. It occasionally beats this target. In 2023-24, it processed 92% of claims within this timeframe. But if claims start to pour in, I wouldn’t be surprised to see turnaround times stretch past 60 or even 90 days.
The good news is that, with HMRC focusing its compliance efforts on larger claims, startups and scaleups are less likely to face additional funding delays caused by an enquiry.Â
Unlocking Your Funding As Soon as Possible
Many companies that missed their claim notification deadline will now be able to claim R&D Tax Relief.
If you’re one of them, my colleagues and I at GrantTree are here to help you access your funding as soon as possible by preparing a fully-compliant claim that’s ready to submit as soon as 1 April comes around.
If you want to access your relief even faster, we can connect you with R&D Advance Funding, which lets you access up to 80% of your future relief up to six months before you file.Â
For expert support filing a claim on 1 April, just get in touch. With 15 years’ R&D tax experience under our belts, we’re perfectly placed to help.Â
