Step 3: What Was Already Known or Possible? | UK R&D Tax Relief Explained | Free 11-step series

Step 3: What Was Already Known or Possible? | UK R&D Tax Relief Explained Before you can explain what your company advanced, you need to establish what science or technology could already do when the project began. In Step 3 of my free 11-step series — How to Prepare an R&D Tax Claim In-House — we move into building the technical case and look at the starting point for your R&D project. In this episode, I explain: • how to identify the relevant field of science or technology • what HMRC means by a competent professional • how to establish the existing scientific or technological baseline • the difference between something being new to your company and genuinely advancing overall knowledge or capability • what publicly available or readily deducible knowledge needs to be considered • useful technical evidence and references that can support your assessment • common weak approaches when establishing the baseline • what you should have clearly documented before moving on to Step 4 This step matters because you cannot sensibly define the scientific or technological advance until you understand what you were advancing from. By the end of Step 3, you should have: ✓ identified the main field of science or technology ✓ identified the relevant competent professional or professionals ✓ established what knowledge or capability already existed when the project began ✓ identified the important limitations of existing science or technology ✓ gathered useful technical references or supporting evidence --- FREE DOWNLOAD — Technical Case Readiness Map I’ve created a practical Technical Case Readiness Map to use alongside Steps 3–6 of the series. It will help you organise the information you need as we work through: Step 3 — Baseline Step 4 — Advance Step 5 — Uncertainty Step 6 — Resolving the Uncertainty Download it here: 👉 https://r-d-tax-hub.kit.com/technical... --- Follow the full 11-step series This series takes you through the R&D claim preparation process in a logical order, from the initial eligibility and project-identification questions through to the technical case, costs, Additional Information Form and final accountant handover. If you’re joining the series here, I recommend starting with Step 1 — Claim Gateway and working through the steps in order. Step 1 — Claim Gateway Can the company potentially claim? Which rules apply? What deadlines and notification requirements need to be considered? Step 2 — Projects & Boundaries Identify the potential R&D projects and define their boundaries. Step 3 — Baseline Establish the field, competent professional and technological baseline. Next: Step 4 — Advance Define the scientific or technological advance being sought. Subscribe to R&D Tax Hub to follow the full free series: @rdtaxhub_back2basics New episodes are released every Wednesday. --- This series is designed to help smaller businesses understand the R&D tax relief process, organise the information needed for a claim and make more informed decisions about preparing a claim in-house. #RDTaxRelief #ResearchAndDevelopment #RDTaxCredits #SmallBusinessUK #RDTaxHub #Innovation #UKBusiness