R&D ADVISER GONE QUIET: TIMED CHECKLIST Established Finance, https://establishedfinance.co.uk/rd-adviser-gone-quiet/ Fixed dates checked against the sources listed on 23 September 2026. Not tax advice. Company: ______________________ Adviser firm: ______________________ Date of last real reply from the adviser: ____________ Accounting period end date(s) the claim covers: ______________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE STAGES The pace below is our suggestion, not an HMRC rule. Day 0 is the day you start. If any date in the fixed dates table falls within the next eight weeks, do not wait out these stages. Do the Companies House and HMRC checks today and start on a replacement straight away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TODAY: Write down where things stand and send one clear chase Done on: ____________ [ ] Note the date of the last reply you actually received, and what it said. Not the last time you chased. Everything after that date is the silence you are measuring. [ ] List the accounting periods the claim covers and their end dates. Every fixed date in the table below is worked out from these, not from anything the adviser tells you. [ ] Send one written chase to every contact you have for the firm, named people and the general inbox. Ask three specific things: which forms were filed and when (claim notification, Additional Information Form, Company Tax Return), with the reference from HMRC's confirmation email for the first two; please send the working papers; are you still acting for us. Give a reply-by date five working days away. WITHIN 3 WORKING DAYS: Check what you can see without the adviser Done on: ____________ [ ] Look the firm up on Companies House Find and Update. It is free and shows company status, filing history, current and resigned officers and any insolvency information. If the firm is in liquidation, administration or dissolved, this is a different problem: see our page on an adviser firm that has collapsed (establishedfinance.co.uk/rd-adviser-collapsed/). [ ] Search your own inbox for HMRC confirmation emails. HMRC emails a confirmation with a reference number when a claim notification form or an Additional Information Form is received. If the adviser submitted them, the email may have gone to the adviser, so ask for it in writing. [ ] Check which agents are authorised for Corporation Tax in your business tax account. Manage account, then Add, view or change tax agents. This tells you who HMRC will currently talk to about the company. BY DAY 7 WITH NO REPLY: Confirm filing status with HMRC directly Done on: ____________ [ ] Call the HMRC Corporation Tax helpline with the company's 10-digit UTR to hand. Ask whether the Company Tax Return for each period has been received and whether it includes an R&D claim. The number and hours are in the sources section below. [ ] Read the engagement letter again. Look for the notice period, what happens to fees on unfinished work, who holds the working papers, the complaints route and any professional body the firm says it belongs to. BY DAY 14: Put the request on formal footing and start looking Done on: ____________ [ ] Send a formal written request for the working papers and all HMRC correspondence, with a date. The technical narrative, cost workings and supporting evidence were prepared for the company. Say that you intend to instruct someone else if you have not heard by that date. [ ] If the engagement letter names a professional body, note its complaints route. Use it if the papers are withheld, not as a first step. [ ] Shortlist a replacement adviser. Our adviser register is checked against Companies House and published terms rather than marketing copy. BY DAY 21 TO 30: Hand over, unless things have already moved Done on: ____________ [ ] Instruct the replacement and give them this checklist, the dates table and whatever papers you hold. They will need authorising for Corporation Tax before HMRC will deal with them. [ ] Remove the old adviser's Corporation Tax authorisation once the new one is in place. Business tax account, Manage account, Add, view or change tax agents, Corporation Tax, manage agents, remove. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FIXED DATES (these do not move, whatever the adviser does) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Claim notification Applies to: Periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, where the company is claiming for the first time or its last claim was made more than 3 years before the end of the notification period Window: From the first day of the period of account to 6 months after its end If missed: The R&D claim for that period is invalid Your date: ____________ Source: gov.uk, tell HMRC that you are planning to claim R&D tax relief, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-hmrc-that-youre-planning-to-claim-research-and-development-rd-tax-relief Additional Information Form Applies to: Every R&D or expenditure credit claim Window: Before, or on the same day as, the Company Tax Return (CT600). If the same day, the form goes first If missed: HMRC will not accept the claim and writes to say it will remove it from the return Your date: ____________ Source: gov.uk, submit detailed information before you claim R&D tax relief, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/submit-detailed-information-before-you-claim-research-and-development-rd-tax-relief Company Tax Return filing Applies to: Every company Window: 12 months after the end of the accounting period If missed: Late filing penalties Your date: ____________ Source: gov.uk, Company Tax Returns, https://www.gov.uk/company-tax-returns Making, amending or withdrawing the R&D claim Applies to: Periods of account of 18 months or less Window: Up to the last day of the 2 years beginning with the last day of the period of account If missed: The claim can only be made late at HMRC's discretion Your date: ____________ Source: Finance Act 1998, Schedule 18, paragraph 83E, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/36/schedule/18/paragraph/83E HMRC enquiry window Applies to: A return delivered on time by a company that is not a member of a large group Window: Notice of enquiry can be given up to 12 months from the day the return was delivered If missed: Not a deadline for you: it is how long HMRC letters about the claim may keep arriving, so someone must be reachable for them Your date: ____________ Source: Finance Act 1998, Schedule 18, paragraph 24, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/36/schedule/18/paragraph/24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OTHER SOURCES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Companies House Find and Update (free company status, officers, filings, insolvency information): https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/ HMRC Corporation Tax helpline: 0300 200 3410, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/corporation-tax-enquiries gov.uk, change or remove your tax agent's authorisation: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/change-or-remove-your-tax-agents-authorisation