R&D tribunal case tracker: journalist pack

Cite this dataset: Parker, A. (2026). UK R&D Tax Relief First-tier Tribunal Case Tracker: Verified Tax Chamber Decisions. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22753345

The figures

11 decisions, 2020 to 2025, none yet under the current rules

• 11 First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) decisions on R&D tax relief, decided between 2020 and 2025.
• 6 went for the taxpayer, 4 for HMRC and 1 in part.
• 10 concern claims under the old SME scheme and 1 under the old RDEC. None concern the merged scheme or ERIS, which apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.
• HMRC's argument that client-funded R&D was "subsidised" or "contracted out" lost in all three cases where it was the main question.
• It is a researched set of decisions we could verify, not a live feed of every R&D appeal. New decisions aren't added automatically.

Read the outcomes by what was argued

A taxpayer win doesn't always mean the R&D claim stood

Counting wins and losses across all 11 cases mixes very different disputes. In 2 of the 6 taxpayer wins, the appeal was about a penalty or HMRC's assessment powers, not whether the work was R&D. In Realbuzz the tribunal found the R&D claim was excessive and still allowed the appeal, because HMRC had used a discovery assessment after missing the normal enquiry window. The grouping below is ours, made from what each decision says it was deciding.

• Did the work count as R&D? The tribunal looked at whether the project sought an advance in science or technology, and at the evidence for it. Hadee Engineering also turned partly on the subsidised and contracted-out rules.
• Was it subsidised or contracted out because a client paid? The R&D itself was not the main dispute. HMRC argued the SME scheme was barred because a client paid for the finished work.
• Penalty, deadline or eligibility condition The appeal was about something other than whether the work was R&D: a careless inaccuracy penalty (H&H), the going concern condition for RDEC (MW High Tech) and a discovery assessment made after the enquiry window closed (Realbuzz).

Reporting it accurately

What the data supports, and what it doesn't

Every case in one table

Citation, date, scheme, result and what each entry rests on

Oldest first, with undated decisions at the end of their year. 3 decisions have no confirmed hand-down date (H&H Contract Scaffolding Ltd, Stage One Creative Services Ltd, Realbuzz Group Ltd), so the year shown comes from the neutral citation; the tracker explains each one. 3 entries rest on professional case notes because we couldn't find the full decision on a free public site. Check those against the decision itself before quoting its wording.

Downloads

The data as CSV and JSON

• rd-case-tracker.csv: one row per case, 11 rows, with sources, notes and outcome detail. Blank cells mean the detail couldn't be confirmed.
• rd-case-tracker.json: the tracker's own data file, including the methodology notes.
• Zenodo record: the snapshot deposited on 14 September 2026, behind the DOI.

The Zenodo snapshot and the current file hold the same 11 cases with the same citations, dates, schemes and outcomes. The edits made since are to wording: source labels, date notes and one summary. Both downloads here are built from the same file as the tracker page, so they always match what the page shows.

How to cite

Citing and reusing this dataset

The data is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You can quote it, republish it and build on it, commercially or not, as long as you credit it and link back. The DOI below points at the copy deposited on Zenodo on 14 September 2026. This page is the current version, and anything corrected since that deposit is listed in the methodology changelog.

Reference list (APA style)

Parker, A. (2026). UK R&D Tax Relief First-tier Tribunal Case Tracker: Verified Tax Chamber Decisions [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22753345

In an article or report

Source: Established Finance, R&D Tribunal Case Tracker (establishedfinance.co.uk/rd-case-tracker/), compiled by Adam Parker.

BibTeX

@misc{parker2026rdcases,
  author    = {Parker, Adam},
  title     = {{UK R\&D Tax Relief First-tier Tribunal Case Tracker: Verified Tax Chamber Decisions}},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.22753345},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22753345},
  note      = {Dataset. Licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

Cite the DOI above when you need a fixed version that won't change under you. 10.5281/zenodo.22753344 always resolves to the latest Zenodo version. Author ORCID: 0009-0008-0368-4408.

Who compiled it

Sources and method

The tracker was compiled by Adam Parker (ORCID 0009-0008-0368-4408) for Established Finance. Each case was checked against the published First-tier Tribunal decision (bailii.org and/or caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk where available) and cross-checked against at least one independent professional report (accountancy/tax law firm commentary). Cases that could not be independently corroborated were excluded. The full method is on the methodology page.

This is a summary of published decisions, not legal advice. If you're writing about a live dispute, the tracker's own limitations section and what happens in an HMRC enquiry give the context.