R&D tax incentive claims, without the cowboy factor.
Eligibility assessed honestly, AusIndustry registration lodged on time, records that survive review — and fixed fees, not a percentage of your refund.
Get in touchThe essentials, as at August 2026
- Refundable offset of 43.5% for companies under $20M aggregated turnover
- Register with AusIndustry within 10 months of year end — 30 April for June balancers
- Eligible activities require genuine technical uncertainty and systematic experimentation
- Expenditure cap of $150 million; records matter as much as eligibility
- Budget reforms (higher rates, lower intensity threshold) take effect 1 July 2028
Who this suits
Gold Coast and Queensland companies doing real development work — software, manufacturing, engineering, agtech, food science — that have either never claimed, or want their claims prepared conservatively enough to sleep at night. If the work does not qualify, we say so; a defensible no is worth more than an indefensible refund.
Related: grants advisory · taxation
FAQ
R&D tax incentive questions, answered
How much is the R&D tax incentive worth?
For companies with aggregated turnover under $20 million, the offset is refundable at 43.5% of eligible R&D expenditure (as at August 2026) — meaning a loss-making startup can receive cash back. Larger companies receive a non-refundable offset at their company tax rate plus 8.5%, or plus 16.5% where R&D intensity exceeds 2%. Announced Budget reforms lift these rates and lower the intensity threshold from 1 July 2028.
What is the R&D registration deadline?
You must register your R&D activities with AusIndustry within 10 months of your year end — for a standard 30 June year, that means 30 April the following year. Miss it and the year’s claim is generally lost, so if you think last year’s work might qualify, check well before April.
Is my software development eligible for the R&D tax incentive?
Sometimes — and this is the area with the most grey. Routine development, configuration and bug-fixing are not eligible; work that involved genuine technical uncertainty resolved through systematic experimentation can be. The test is about how you worked and what records show it, not how innovative the product feels. We assess honestly — including telling you when a claim is not supportable.
What records do I need for an R&D claim?
Contemporaneous evidence that experiments happened: hypotheses, test plans and results, time records connecting staff to R&D activities, and expenditure tied to those activities. Claims fail reviews on record-keeping more than on eligibility — we set up the record discipline as part of the engagement.
Can I claim both a government grant and the R&D tax incentive for the same project?
Often both can apply to one project, but not doubled on the same dollar — grant-funded expenditure generally triggers clawback adjustments to the R&D benefit. The interaction is calculable, and it is exactly the kind of question to settle before accepting a grant, not at tax time.
Do I need a consultant, and what do you charge?
There is no requirement to use one — but registrations and claims prepared without experience draw reviews. As registered tax agents we prepare the AusIndustry registration and the tax schedule together, for a fixed fee agreed up front rather than a percentage that scales with your refund.