HMRC's targeted advance assurance for R&D tax relief: what it covers and how to apply

Written by Peter Allen MAAT, co-founder and Finance Director of Buzz Accounting, with more than 20 years in accountancy · 4 November 2026

HMRC opened a new route to certainty on an R&D tax relief claim on 18 May 2026, running as a pilot until May 2027. Targeted advance assurance lets a small or medium-sized company ask HMRC, before it makes its claim, to look at up to two specific areas of that claim and say in writing whether its view holds. It sits alongside the older full claim advance assurance service for first-time claimants, and the two work differently enough that picking the wrong one wastes the application.

The four issues it covers

A targeted advance assurance application has to pick from a fixed list of four issues, and each application covers one project and one issue only, so a company asking about two issues on the same project files two applications. HMRC accepts a maximum of two applications per company for a period, which is where the "up to two areas" in the service's name comes from.

Whether a specific project meets the definition of research and development for tax purposes.
Whether expenditure on work carried out overseas qualifies for relief.
Which party, where R&D is contracted from one company to another, is entitled to claim it.
Whether the company qualifies for the exemption from the cap on the payable credit, which is otherwise £20,000 plus 300% of the company's PAYE and National Insurance for the period.

These are the four areas HMRC's own compliance checks spend the most time on, so getting a written answer before the claim is filed removes the largest sources of a later enquiry on that part of the claim.

Who can apply

The company must be an SME, must be carrying out R&D or planning to in the accounting period the application covers, must not have already claimed R&D tax relief for that period, and must not have already been given assurance on the same two areas for that period. A large company cannot apply, nor can a company seeking assurance on three or more areas, or one that has applied for full claim advance assurance for the same period. HMRC also refuses an application where the company or a connected person has entered a disclosable tax avoidance scheme, is a Corporate Serious Defaulter, or has an open enquiry into a Corporation Tax return.

This is a different test from full claim advance assurance, which is open only to a company making its first R&D claim, with turnover below £2 million and fewer than 50 employees, and which covers the whole of a claim rather than specific areas, for the first three accounting periods. A company cannot use both services for the same period or project, so a company already approaching its third or fourth claim, past the point full claim advance assurance would accept it, is exactly the kind of company targeted advance assurance was built for.

Worked example: a lab cost that sits outside the UK

Worked example — illustrative. A biotech company unsure about one supplier.

Nadia's company is developing a diagnostic test. Its accounting period runs to 31 December 2026, and it forecasts qualifying R&D expenditure of £340,000 for the year, including £95,000 paid to a contract laboratory in Switzerland for stability testing that needs a facility and a regulatory approval the UK does not have.
The company is loss-making and its R&D spend is comfortably over 30% of total expenditure, so it expects to claim under Enhanced R&D Intensive Support, worth up to about 26.97p of cash per £1 of qualifying spend.
If the £95,000 Swiss cost qualifies, the claim is worked out on £340,000: roughly £91,700. If it does not, because the exception for a genuinely unavailable UK facility is read narrowly, the claim drops to £245,000: roughly £66,100, a difference of about £25,600.
Nadia also is not sure whether her company or the Swiss laboratory is the party entitled to claim the cost at all, since the contract was drafted before anyone thought about the tax position.

Nadia's company is an SME, has not yet claimed for the 2026 period, and has no enquiry, avoidance scheme or Corporate Serious Defaulter history to rule it out. It submits two targeted advance assurance applications before the year ends: one on whether the overseas expenditure qualifies, one on which party is entitled to claim the contracted-out cost. A written answer on both before the claim notification is due removes a £25,600 swing from the forecast she gives her board, and settles which company's accountant should even be preparing the figures.

How to apply

An application is made online, by the company or by an agent holding proper authorisation (form 64-8 or COMP1). The form cannot be saved part-way through and does not take attachments, so everything has to be gathered first: the company's registration number, the accounting period start date, the project's start date and a project overview, forecast R&D expenditure for the period, the type of records kept, the contact details of the competent professional and the senior officer putting their name to the application, and, where the issue is overseas expenditure, the reason the work could not be done in the UK. HMRC aims to process a complete, accurate application within 40 calendar days, and it cannot be appealed if HMRC decides not to give the assurance asked for.

The assurance that comes back covers only the issue and the period applied for, on the facts given in that application. It is not a substitute for the claim notification six months after the end of the period of account, or for the additional information form filed with the Company Tax Return; our post on the R&D claim notification deadline covers both. If the facts change materially after assurance is given, for example the overseas lab is swapped for a different one, the assurance no longer covers what is actually claimed.

What to do this week

List every part of your current or next R&D claim where you are relying on a judgement call rather than a settled answer, and sort them against the four issues targeted advance assurance can cover.
If overseas or contracted-out costs are the uncertain part, gather the contract and the reason any work happens outside the UK before you apply, since that is the evidence the application asks for.
Check whether your company has already claimed for the period in question. An application made after the claim is filed is too late.
If your company is on its first claim, turnover is under £2 million and fewer than 50 employees are on the payroll, compare full claim advance assurance against the targeted service before choosing either, since you cannot use both for the same period.
Put the pilot's own end date, May 2027, against your own accounting period, since an area you plan to raise in a much later claim may fall outside the pilot altogether.

We prepare R&D claims for a fixed fee agreed before work starts, and that includes deciding whether a targeted advance assurance application is worth making before the claim itself is filed. See how we handle R&D claims, including for biotech companies whose R&D is mostly subcontracted. Your monthly accounting fee comes from the instant quote. Get started.

Common questions

What is HMRC's targeted advance assurance for R&D tax relief?

It is a pilot service, launched on 18 May 2026 and running until May 2027, that lets a small or medium-sized company apply to HMRC for a written answer on up to two specific areas of an R&D tax relief claim before the claim is made. It is separate from full claim advance assurance, which covers a whole first claim rather than specific areas. A company applies once for each issue it wants assurance on, up to a maximum of two applications for the same period, and HMRC's answer covers only the issue, the project and the period applied for, based on the facts given in the application.

What four issues can I ask HMRC to give targeted advance assurance on?

Whether a specific project meets the definition of research and development for tax purposes, whether expenditure on work carried out overseas qualifies for relief, which party is entitled to claim where R&D is contracted from one company to another, and whether the company qualifies for the exemption from the cap on the payable credit. Each application covers one project and one of these four issues, so a company unsure about two different issues on the same project submits two separate applications. These four areas are also where HMRC's compliance checks spend the most time, which is why the pilot was built around them.

Is my company eligible to apply for targeted advance assurance?

Yes, if it is an SME that is carrying out or planning to carry out R&D in the accounting period the application covers, has not already claimed R&D tax relief for that period, and has not already received assurance on the same two areas for that period. A large company cannot apply, and nor can a company seeking assurance on three or more areas, one that has applied for full claim advance assurance for the same period, or one where the company or a connected person has an open Corporation Tax enquiry, has entered a disclosable tax avoidance scheme, or is a Corporate Serious Defaulter.

Can I apply for both targeted advance assurance and full claim advance assurance?

Not for the same period or project. Full claim advance assurance is open only to a company making its first R&D claim, with turnover below £2 million and fewer than 50 employees, and it covers the whole of that claim for the first three accounting periods once granted. Targeted advance assurance has no first-claim requirement, covers only the specific issues applied for, and is aimed at a company that has already claimed before, or whose uncertainty sits in one or two specific areas rather than across the whole claim. Choose on that basis before applying, since an application for one rules out the other for the same period.

What do I need before I apply, and how long does HMRC take to decide?

You need the company's registration number, the accounting period and project start dates, a project overview, forecast R&D expenditure, the type of records kept, the contact details of the competent professional and the senior officer signing the application, and, for an overseas expenditure application, the reason the work could not be done in the UK. The online form cannot be saved part-way through and takes no attachments, so gather everything first. HMRC aims to process a complete, accurate application within 40 calendar days, and a decision not to give assurance cannot be appealed.

Does getting targeted advance assurance mean HMRC cannot check my R&D claim later?

No, not beyond the specific issue, project and period the assurance was given for. HMRC's assurance is based on the facts set out in the application, and if those facts change materially before the claim is made, for example a different overseas supplier is used, the assurance no longer covers what is actually claimed. Parts of the claim outside the issue applied for, and later accounting periods, are not covered at all and can still be checked in the ordinary way when the claim is filed.

Can an accountant apply for targeted advance assurance on a company's behalf?

Yes, provided the accountant holds proper authorisation from the company, through form 64-8 or form COMP1. The application itself still has to be completed in one sitting, with every piece of information to hand, since the online form cannot be saved and resumed and does not accept attachments. We prepare the application alongside the underlying R&D claim, so the facts given to HMRC in the application match what is later put in the additional information form and the claim itself.

When does the targeted advance assurance pilot end?

HMRC has said the pilot runs until May 2027. It has not said whether the service will continue, change or stop after that date. A company whose claim and accounting period fall well within the pilot period has a straightforward case to apply now if it has a genuine uncertainty in one of the four covered areas; a company planning a much later claim should check the position nearer the time rather than assume the same service will still be open.