R&D tax credits - Government support increased

In the May 2009 budget, the Commonwealth Government announced changes to the current R&D tax concession program to increase the level of support available and make the refundable credit available to companies in tax loss with no limit on the level of R&D expenditure they undertake.

The main points of the program are:

• Small firms with less than $20 million pa turnover will receive a tax refund of 45% when they file their tax return (= 150% concession) 
• Firms with more than $20 million pa turnover will receive a 40% tax credit on filing their return (=133% deduction) 

As an interim step, the R&D expenditure cap for the current tax concession offset will be increased from $1 million to $2 million for 2009-2010. The R&D Tax Credit legislation is not yet in final form but the system will come into effect from 1 July 2010.