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R&D&I tax deductions
The certification of R&D&I projects is a technical and accounting evaluation of the project, which determines whether it is a research, development or technological innovation project.
The certification of projects complies with the established legal requirements, so that the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities can issue the Reasoned Report. This report allows R&D&I tax deductions to be justified to the Ministry of Finance, providing total legal certainty in their application for corporate tax purposes.
The certification process for R&D&I projects must follow the following steps:
- The company or consultancy firm prepares a Technical-Economic Report of the project and sends it to EQA, so that the experts and auditors can assess it.
- Once the report is complete, EQA issues the corresponding certificate to the company, together with a technical report.
- The company or consultancy sends EQA’s technical report to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
- The ministry issues a Binding Reasoned Report on behalf of the company.
Frequently asked questions
Corporate Income Tax Law
On 27 November 2014, the Corporate Income Tax Law was published, which in its article 35 introduces important changes in the taxation of R&D&I, incorporating and updating the already public Law 14 of 2013, the Law to Support Entrepreneurs and their internationalisation.
It creates the possibility of application over the limit or crediting that may be applied to deductions generated in tax years commencing after the 1st of January 2013.
It introduces modifications to the monetisable concept of the R&D&I deduction.
We help you with the Corporate Income Tax Law.
LIS - LAE
The changes introduced by the LAE and ratified in the publication of the new IS Law, allow the application of the deduction generated according to art. 35 of the aforementioned law, without being subject to any limit on the full amount of Corporate Tax, and, where appropriate, proceed to pay it.
It is applied with a 20% discount to the amount. The total amount returned or applied in excess may not exceed 1 million euros in the cases of technological innovation activities and 3 million euros in the cases of R&D&i*. At least one year must have passed since the end of the tax period in which the deduction was generated, without it being able to be applied.
The average workforce assigned to research and development or technological innovation activities must be maintained for two years. An amount equivalent to the deduction applied or paid must be allocated to research and development or technological innovation expenses in the following two years. The entity must have obtained a reasoned report on the classification of the activity as research and development or technological innovation or a prior agreement on the valuation of the expenses and investments corresponding to the research and development project.
* (LIS) Those that allocate amounts greater than 10% of their turnover may increase the monetizable amount of the R&D deduction from three to five million euros annually.
We help you with LIS LAE.
Sample certification
Introduced by Law 23/2005 modifying TR Corporate Tax. Possibility of including samples of textiles, footwear, wood and furniture, toys and leather goods as technological innovation.
Of the 4 phases that constitute a sample:
- Conception and capture of trends (Travel, magazines).
- Design and definition: Work of internal or external designers, technical sheets of the prototypes.
- Materialization of prototypes.
- Pre-series, marketing and distribution.
Only Phase 2 and Phase 3 are subject to certification and therefore obtaining the Motivated Report.
We help you with the certification of samples.
The possibility of application over the limit or crediting is created, which may be applied to deductions generated in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2013.
Introduces modifications to the monetizable concept of the R&D deduction.
We help you with the Corporate Tax Law.
How should the Title and Acronym of a dossier be recorded for multi-year R&D&I projects? And for cooperative projects?
Projects that are multiannual (Follow-up) must maintain their Acronym throughout their duration. Therefore, the files that are Follow-up must have exactly the same Acronym and, logically, the same Title.
In the projects that are developed in Cooperation, the files of all the cooperants must have exactly the same Acronym in the first 8 characters, and vary only in the last 2 with two numerical digits (01, 02, 03…), and, logically the same Title for all the cooperants.
If you need help with the titles and acronyms of R&D&I project dossiers do not hesitate to contact us.
Must evidence of all R&D&I activities be provided in order to obtain tax deductions?
No. Only the evidence of execution of the fiscal year being evaluated for obtaining tax deductions must be provided.
We help you with the provision of evidence of R&D&I activities for tax deductions.
When is it considered a cooperative R&D&I project?
An R&D&I project is considered to be cooperative when two or more companies participate in it in a coordinated manner under the same objective.
We help you with the tax deductions of your R&D&I project in cooperation.
Should cooperative projects separate objectives, developments, activities (including evidence), budget and expenditure?
Yes, in all R&D&I cooperation projects each section must be clearly identified separately.
We help you to separate objectives, developments, activities, budget and expenditure in your R&D&I cooperation project.
Can a company combine the tax credit and tax deduction regimes within the same fiscal year?
Yes, as long as the personnel involved in the projects that are deducted are not the same as the personnel involved in the projects that benefit from the tax credit. Only companies with the Innovative SME seal will be able to benefit from the deduction and bonus of the same personnel.
We solve your doubts about the compatibility of bonuses and tax deductions for R&D&I.
Regarding the Ministry's Excel ANNEX II, should I fill in all the years of the imputed items, or only for the fiscal year being imputed?
You must fill in all the sheets of the imputed items for the entire duration of the project.
We help you with the completion of the imputed items in tax deductions for R&D&I.
Explanations regarding the modification of the data recorded in a Motivated Report request
The data in the Motivated Report request cannot be modified independently once it has been registered and signed. For this reason, it is recommended that you review all information before submitting it.
Some data cannot be modified in any way and may directly affect the tax credits and deductions generated, such as the Company Name, Tax ID and Report Type.
The data related to the entity can only be modified in SISEN by the holder, before completing the application registration. On the other hand, in “Registered Requests” it will be possible to rectify certain data. However, there is no certainty that all modified data will be accepted.
In EQA we can help you with the modification of data registered in your application for a Motivated Report. Contact us without obligation.
Procedure for requesting a change of Certification Body
The procedure to change the Certification Body, initially selected to request a Motivated Report, requires communication and justification by the applicant, depending on the following assumptions:
- Scenario 1: the request for change must be made within the two months immediately following the date of registration of the request. It is simply necessary to file a request for change.
- Scenario 2: requests for change outside the two-month period. Several situations can occur:
- The selected Certification Body is not accredited for the technical discipline under evaluation, or is pending accreditation. In this case, documentation must be provided that justifies in detail the existing problem.
- The selected Certification Body recognizes its inability to issue the technical report in a timely manner, which makes it difficult for the applicant to receive it in time to submit it to the Ministry within the deadline set to complete the documentation. In this case, the applicant must present an express acknowledgement of this fact by the Certifier Body.
- The selected Certification Body waives issuing the requested technical report. In this case, the applicant must also present an express and certified acknowledgement of this fact by the outgoing Certification Body.
- The selected Certification Body certifies (by means of a simple certification) that it has not been contracted to certify the project or annuity that is the subject of the request for the reasoned report.
EQA can help you with the change of the Certification Body. Contact us without obligation.
Procedure to accredit prioritization by monetization in Motivated Report requests.
Monetization in Motivated Report requests refers to the exemption of the quota limit and the refund of tax deductions generated pending, according to Article 39 of Law 27/2014, of November 27, on Corporate Income Tax.
The processing of Motivated Report requests related to monetization is carried out through a new procedure since 2018.
The voluntary period for declaring Corporate Income Tax ends 6 months and 25 days after the end of the tax year. Applicants who have not yet received the Motivated Report, after the monetization entry in their return, may request prioritization in the issuance by sending the corresponding documentation.
Form 200:
– Pages 14 and 14 bis, and the breakdown on page 18.
– If there is more than one project, the breakdown of the projects declared in the annexes of Form 200.
Form 220:
– Pages 9 and breakdown of pages 14 bis, 14 A bis, 14 A NIF bis, 14 B NIF 1, 14 B NIF 2.
– If there is more than one project, the breakdown of the projects declared in the annexes of form 220.
Only the ‘type A’ Motivated Report is valid to apply the deduction and/or monetization, since the type B and C Motivated Reports are issued prior to the start of the activities that qualify, and these may undergo modifications.
At EQA we help you to prove the prioritization by monetization in Motivated Report applications. Contact us without obligation.
Contact us for more information about R&D&I tax deductions.
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