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  • UK HMRC compliant
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How we help

Tax relief services for software companies

Bonham & Brook helps software companies claim tax relief for qualifying software development, technical innovation and intellectual property.

Our specialists assess your development projects, costs, IP position and supporting records to identify relevant R&D tax relief and Patent Box opportunities, calculate qualifying expenditure and prepare the documentation needed for submission.

£38mSecured for Software clients
234Businesses supported
94%Client Satisfaction
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Key challenges facing Software companies

Software companies face pressure to control development costs, protect margins and fund investment in better platforms, systems and intellectual property.

These pressures can create tax relief opportunities when costs relate to qualifying R&D work, software development activity or patented technology.

 

Common challenges include:

  • Development work requiring architecture changes, technical testing or repeated build iterations
  • Platform performance, scalability, security or integration issues that standard development methods cannot resolve
  • High staff and contractor costs linked to software engineering, testing and technical problem-solving

R&D Tax Credits can help software companies recover part of their qualifying development costs, improve cash flow and fund further technical work. Patent Box can reduce Corporation Tax on profits linked to qualifying patented technology.

We connect your development activity, costs and intellectual property to the relevant reliefs, then prepare the calculations and evidence needed for submission.

Sub-sectors within Software

  • fintech-software Fintech software
  • cybersecurity-companies Cybersecurity companies
  • it-consultancies IT consultancies
  • software-development-companies Software development companies
  • telecommunications-technology Telecommunications technology
  • gaming-interactive-software Gaming and interactive software
  • big-data-analytics-platforms Big data and analytics platforms
Industries - Software image challenges
Our services

How we help software companies

R&D Tax Credits - Software
£500M+

R&D Tax Credits

  • Innovation

R&D Tax Credits help software companies recover part of the cost of technical development work, including projects involving architecture changes, system performance, integrations, security work or algorithm development.

A valid claim may reduce Corporation Tax or generate a payable credit, depending on the scheme and company position.

  • Claim up to 26.97% of qualifying R&D spend We assess which R&D scheme applies to your company, then calculate the claim value under the correct rules.
  • Project eligibility reviewWe assess technical uncertainty in architecture changes, system performance, integrations, security work and algorithm development to identify qualifying R&D activities and separate them from standard software development.
  • Eligible expenditure calculationWe calculate eligible staff, external specialists, software, data and cloud computing costs directly linked to the R&D project.
  • Evidence and claim preparationWe prepare the technical explanation, cost schedule and supporting documents required for the claim submission.
Patent Box - Software
£500M+

Patent Box

  • Patent Box

Patent Box helps software companies reduce Corporation Tax on profits linked to qualifying patented technology.

The relief is relevant when your company owns or exclusively licenses a qualifying patent and earns income from software, systems, algorithms or technical inventions covered by that patent.

  • Reduce Corporation Tax on patented profitsPatent Box can reduce the Corporation Tax rate to 10% on profits linked to qualifying patents.
  • Patent ownership and licence reviewWe review whether your company owns or exclusively licenses the patent rights needed to make a claim.
  • Development condition assessmentWe assess whether your company contributed to the development of the patented technology or qualifying software-related invention.
  • Patent Box calculation and claim support We calculate the qualifying patented profit and prepare the claim position for submission.
Capital Allowances - Software
£50K+

Capital Allowances

  • Capital Allowances

Software businesses can invest significantly in offices, specialist facilities, fitouts and the infrastructure supporting their operations. Capital Allowances can provide tax relief on qualifying expenditure within these properties. We review capital expenditure associated with buildings, fitouts and supporting infrastructure to identify qualifying plant, fixtures and integral features that may not have been fully recognised through standard accounting processes.

  • Office Infrastructure & Integral FeaturesWe identify qualifying expenditure within offices and operational premises, including electrical installations, heating and cooling, ventilation, lighting, security, cabling and other integral features.
  • New Premises & FitoutsWhether you're moving into new premises, developing additional space or fitting out an existing facility, we review project expenditure to identify qualifying Capital Allowances.

  • Retrospective Investment ReviewsPrevious investment in offices, facilities and refurbishments may contain allowances that were not fully identified or claimed. We can review historic property expenditure to identify potential opportunities.
  • Claim Preparation & SupportWe analyse and categorise qualifying expenditure, calculate the available allowances and provide the supporting information required for your tax computations and Corporation Tax return.
Our edge

R&D tax relief specialist support for Software companies

At Bonham & Brook, software R&D claims are led by dedicated R&D specialists who understand how technical development appears in software development environments.

Our specialists work with developers, technical leads, product teams, DevOps teams and finance teams to review platform architecture, system performance, security work, integrations and algorithm development.

We use project team input, technical records and financial data to prepare a claim that explains the technical uncertainty, defines the qualifying activity and links supporting costs to the activity being claimed.

Sasha Falvey

Sasha Falvey

Technical Consultant

Software companies

R&D costs that can be claimed

The cost areas below are commonly reviewed in software R&D claims. Whether they qualify depends on the project activity, the technical uncertainty involved, the company’s role in the work and the evidence linking each cost to the qualifying R&D activity.

As part of our review, we assess your project costs, identify eligible expenditure and confirm what can be included before preparing the claim.

01

External specialist and technical consultancy costs

 

External specialist and technical consultancy costs can be included when they support technical investigation, analysis, prototyping or validation during development work. In software, this may include specialist input on cloud architecture, security testing, algorithm development, data engineering, complex system integration, proof-of-concept validation, or specialist testing of a technical approach.

02

Developers, architects and technical staff time

 

Developer, architects and technical staff time can be included in an R&D claim when it relates to qualifying technical work. In software, this may include developers resolving performance issues, architects redesigning platform architecture, DevOps teams testing deployment constraints, QA specialists validating technical solutions, and security engineers resolving security vulnerabilities.

03

Software, data and cloud computing costs

 

Software licences, data licences and cloud computing costs can be included when they are used for design, modelling, testing or analysis during development work. In software, this may include cloud computing used to run test workloads, sandbox environments, data processing tools used to validate technical approaches, API testing tools, automated testing frameworks, load testing environments, and performance monitoring systems used during R&D.

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Download our R&D Guide

Get a comprehensive guide to help you identify, prepare, and maximise your R&D claims.

Case Studies

Examples of how we’ve helped businesses secure funding, manage risk, and unlock tax value.

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Reviews & References

What our clients say

Feedback from businesses we’ve supported.

Get in touch

Tax relief eligibility review for Software companies

Book a structured, no-obligation review with a specialist. We’ll assess your technical development work, R&D claim potential and Patent Box position, then provide a clear viability report.

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Confidential

All discussions are held in strict confidence.

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Complimentary

Initial eligibility consultation is always complimentary.

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