Tax
R&D relief and IP Box — how to lower your tax legally?
The R&D relief and IP Box are two legal preferences that genuinely reduce tax for companies investing in development and creating intellectual property. We explain how they work, who qualifies and how to approach them.
R&D relief — deducting development costs
The research and development relief lets you deduct qualified costs (including salaries of staff engaged in R&D, materials, expert opinions) from the tax base — additionally, on top of their normal treatment as costs. In practice the same expense reduces your tax twice.
IP Box — 5% on income from IP
IP Box is a preferential 5% tax rate on income from qualified intellectual property rights (e.g. copyright to software, patents) created within R&D activity. It requires keeping separate records of IP income.
Who qualifies and how
- Companies running development work — no laboratory needed; what counts is the systematic creation of new or improved solutions.
- Developers and software houses (IP Box on income from software rights).
- Condition: correct qualification of the work and reliable records — this is where errors happen most often.
- The safe path: an individual tax ruling confirming the right to the relief.
In short: we will check whether your activity qualifies for the R&D relief or IP Box, prepare the records and — if needed — the ruling application.
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