R&D Advance Notification Form: HMRC deadlines.
Some companies need to tell HMRC they intend to claim R&D tax relief before they submit their claim. Miss the notification window and an otherwise valid claim could be lost.
What is the Advance Notification Form?
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, certain companies must tell HMRC in advance that they intend to claim R&D tax relief. This is commonly referred to as the Advance Notification Form (ANF), although HMRC officially calls it the Claim Notification Form.
The online form asks for company details and a broad outline of the R&D work. It is a separate requirement from the R&D tax relief claim itself, which is submitted through the Company Tax Return.
Submitting the notification does not mean that a project qualifies for relief. HMRC can still examine the actual claim and the evidence supporting it.
Who needs to notify HMRC?
This depends on whether the company has claimed before, and when HMRC received that claim. These are the two common situations we see.
First-time claimants
A company making its first R&D tax relief claim will normally need to submit the notification before the six-month deadline.
Businesses returning to R&D claims
If the last claim was made more than three years before the end of the current notification period, the company will generally need to notify HMRC again.
When might notification not be required?
Companies that have made a qualifying previous claim within the relevant three-year window generally do not need to notify again. However, certain claims may not count, including those HMRC has removed from a Company Tax Return.
The date the claim was made is crucial. The three-year test is measured back from the last day of the current claim notification period, rather than simply covering the previous three accounting years. A company may therefore have claimed for the previous period but submitted that claim too late for it to count.
Transitional rules also apply where a company is relying on an R&D claim for an accounting period beginning before 1 April 2023. For that earlier claim to count, it must have been included in the original Company Tax Return, rather than added through an amendment.
When is the notification deadline?
HMRC must receive it within six months of the end of the relevant period of account. Our R&D deadline calculator provides a personalised schedule of the key notification and claim dates for your business.
Use our R&D deadline calculatorWhat does HMRC ask for?
The form gives HMRC an indication of the projects a company intends to claim for. A full technical report and detailed cost calculation are not required at this stage.
Registered name and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).
The name, role and contact details of the senior person responsible for the information.
HMRC requires details of all agents involved, including those who provided advice, analysed costs or prepared technical information, even if they are not submitting the form.
The start and end dates of the relevant Corporation Tax accounting period and period of account.
HMRC asks for the number of projects and a high-level overview. The summary should contain enough information to indicate how the activities meet the definition of R&D for tax purposes.
The company or its agent submits the notification through HMRC's online service.
Once submitted, HMRC sends an email acknowledgement containing a reference number. Companies should save a copy of the completed form before submission, as it cannot be accessed afterwards. The acknowledgement and reference number should also be retained with the company's claim records.
Read HMRC's guidance and access the online formWhat happens if the deadline is missed?
Where a company was required to notify HMRC and did not do so by the deadline, a later R&D tax relief claim for that period will likely be invalid. This can happen even if the expenditure would otherwise have qualified.
Before concluding that relief has been lost, it is worth checking the company's claim history carefully. The previous claim dates, the way those claims were made, and any relevant exceptions can affect whether notification was required.
The notification deadline and the claim deadline are separate. Companies usually have longer to submit the R&D claim itself. The later claim filing window does not extend the six-month notification deadline.
What happens next?
Submitting an Advance Notification Form does not complete the R&D claim. The company still needs to identify the projects that qualify for relief, explain the scientific or technological advances and uncertainties involved, and calculate the qualifying expenditure.
The supporting information must then be prepared, including the Additional Information Form (AIF). This is submitted to HMRC before the Company Tax Return containing the R&D claim. The claim itself must be included in the return within the relevant filing deadline.
The forms have different purposes. The Advance Notification Form tells HMRC that a company intends to claim, where notification is required. The Additional Information Form provides the more detailed information about the R&D activities and expenditure supporting that claim.
Our page on specialist R&D claim preparation explains the technical and tax checks involved.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to submit an Advance Notification Form every year?
Not necessarily. If the business has made a qualifying R&D claim within the relevant three-year window, it will generally not need to notify again. It is still worth checking each period, especially if a claim was amended, rejected or submitted later than expected.
Can my accountant or R&D adviser submit the form?
Yes. An agent can complete and submit the claim notification on the company's behalf. HMRC requires details of the agents involved in the R&D claim, which may include more than the person submitting the form.
Does notification mean HMRC has approved the work?
No. The acknowledgement confirms that HMRC has received the notification. The project eligibility and qualifying expenditure are still considered as part of the eventual R&D claim.
What if the company has an extended period of account?
The notification period is based on the company's period of account, which can be longer than a single Corporation Tax accounting period. One notification can cover the accounting periods within that period of account, although separate Company Tax Returns and AIFs may be required.
Can a late notification be corrected?
There is generally no way to submit a late claim notification and make it effective retrospectively. The first step is to check whether notification was in fact required, including any previous claims and relevant exceptions.
Uncertain which deadline applies to your business?
MSC R&D can help establish whether notification is needed, consider previous claims and work through the requirements before the deadline passes.
