April 30 Registration Deadline
By Russell Mogilevsky
Having quickly passed the Christmas and New Year’s Day Festivities, Australia Day celebrations, witnessed yet another great Australian Open and a somewhat volatile cricket season, most Australian companies are now truly back to a “business as usual” mode.
Yes, the previous calendar and financial years (2009/10) seem to be a distant memory… new and exciting challenges are ahead.
But not so fast….There are still ways to capture significant value from previous years’ hard work. Particularly, if your company has carried out any of the following activities then there is a great potential to add significant cash flow into your business. Many business managers and entrepreneurs are asked to take a moment to think about these questions…
“Have you designed, built or modified products, processes, software applications, equipment or devices?”
“Changed formulations, technical specifications or methods to your existing products and manufacturing processes?”
“Engaged researchers, engineers or technologists to investigate and model innovative ways to overcome a technical problem?”
“Applied or thought of applying for patents or design rights for work undertaken?”
If some of the answers are a “yes” (or even a “may be”), then they could be eligible for applying for the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Concession program.
“The deadline for registrations is April 30, 2011 for companies with financial year ended June 30, 2010”
And with less than 90 days still to go, now is a great opportunity to gain additional benefits from the significant expenses incurred. For those companies that are in a tax loss position even more is at stake.
“For example, R&D expenses worth $200,000 can yield eligible companies with up to $75,000 in cash refunds… and that goes up to $750,000 for up to $2 million worth of eligible R&D expenses”
Many companies, big and small, tend to forget that these funds have already gone from their bank accounts… and all they need to do now is capture what’s been done and spent. With a reliable approach, this process becomes a very small investment compared to the potential gains.
Here are some of the other key issues that come up in conversations.
“More than $1.4 billion is distributed by the government to just over 8,000 companies through the R&D tax concession program a year… is your company one of them?”
“Are you claiming all eligible projects or missing out on vital cash flow?”
“You may have been claiming for years now, but are you up to date with the latest developments…. government regulations, audit and record keeping requirements?”
“Have you conducted an independent audit of your R&D claim and put in place reliable risk management system in case of a government audit?”
The main point is this… Government funding is available for your R&D activities. Now is the time to capture most that you can and make sure you don’t miss out on the April 30 deadline before the business as usual activities take over any potential for claiming back benefits for your hard labour.
For a discussion, contact us on 03 9555 3511 or email [email protected]
Keen to read and investigate further?
On “How to Claim”, click here.
