ts Grantsts Grants

R&D Tax Credits + Grants

Get both. Get more.

Most innovation pounds get half-funded — because clients only chase one of the two reliefs available to them. We design the full stack: grants up front, R&D tax credits afterwards.

The combined relief stack

Three sources of funding for the same R&D project. They stack — carefully — and the rules around how matter.

Grants
30 – 70%
Paid before / during the work

Innovate UK, UKRI competitions, DESNZ Net Zero programmes, devolved-government schemes. Cash or staged drawdown — not a tax relief, real money in.

SME R&D Tax Credit
up to ~21.5%
Claimed after the year-end

For qualifying R&D spend not covered by a grant. Cash credit if loss-making, corp-tax reduction if profitable. See ts.tax SME relief.

RDEC
~15% net
Claimed after the year-end

Research & Development Expenditure Credit — for larger companies, OR for the slice of an SME claim that received a non-de-minimis grant. See ts.tax RDEC.

A worked example

A £200,000 product-development project

  • +£80,000 Innovate UK Smart Grant (40% of project, paid in stages during the work)
  • +£20,000 SME R&D credit on the £120,000 self-funded portion
  • +£10,000 RDEC credit on the £80,000 grant-funded portion (non-de-minimis grants force RDEC for that slice)
Net cost to client
£90,000

55% of the project covered by combined reliefs. Numbers are illustrative — actual claims depend on spend mix, company size and audited records.

How we work

01
We listen first

A short conversation captures what you do and what you want funded. About two minutes.

02
We design the stack

We map your project to grants worth pursuing AND the R&D credit treatment that lines up with each.

03
We bid for you

If we engage, we run the grant application. Diagnostic fee plus a success fee on award.

04
We file the credit

After year-end, our Chartered Tax Advisers at ts.tax file the SME claim or RDEC. One team across both reliefs.

Why TS Partners

One firm. Both reliefs. Fixed fees.

We're Chartered Tax Advisers and Accountants with offices in Wellington, Newton Abbot and Plymouth. The grants team and the R&D tax team sit under one roof — no handoffs, no “your accountant says one thing, your grants adviser says another.” Diagnostic fees agreed up front. Success fees only on award.

Tell us about your project