R&D Tax Incentive Services

Australia’s R&D Tax Incentive is one of the most generous research and development programs in the OECD. A foreign-owned Australian company with aggregated turnover under AU$20 million can claim a refundable offset of 43.5% on eligible R&D expenditure, paid as a cash refund from the ATO even when the company has no tax to pay. On AU$1 million of eligible spend, that is AU$435,000 back. The catch is that it is a self-assessment program with strict eligibility tests, and a claim that fails an ATO or AusIndustry review can be clawed back in full, with penalties. We prepare claims that are built to hold up under scrutiny.

R&D Tax Incentive claim preparation, end to end

This is a hands-on advisory engagement, not a referral. We do the work of identifying what qualifies, documenting it to the standard the ATO expects, and lodging it correctly. Our R&D Tax Incentive service includes:

• Eligibility assessment – a clear, fixed-fee review of whether your activities and your entity qualify before you commit to a full claim. You get a yes, a no, or a “here is what needs to change” rather than an invoice for a claim that should never have been lodged.
• Activity and expenditure scoping – we separate genuine core R&D activities (experimental work with an outcome that cannot be known in advance) from supporting activities and from ordinary business-as-usual development that does not qualify. This core-versus-supporting line is where most DIY and generalist claims go wrong.
• AusIndustry registration preparation – we draft and lodge the registration of your R&D activities with AusIndustry, including the expanded technical questions introduced from 1 July 2025, within the 10-month deadline after your year end.
• R&D schedule for the tax return – we prepare the R&D Tax Incentive Schedule that attaches to your company tax return, reconciling registered activities to claimed expenditure so the two tell the same story.
• Documentation and record-keeping systems – we set up contemporaneous record-keeping (project logs, time apportionment, expenditure trails) so your evidence is created as the work happens, not reconstructed under audit pressure.
• ATO and AusIndustry review support – if your claim is reviewed, we respond to information requests and defend the position we prepared. Because we built the claim to be reviewable, that conversation is far shorter.

Who this service is for

We work with foreign-owned companies doing real R&D in Australia. Our clients typically fall into one of three groups:

• Foreign-owned Australian Pty Ltd companies – subsidiaries of overseas parents that conduct development work in Australia and want to claim the offset without tripping the aggregated-turnover and on-own-behalf rules that catch group structures.
• Pre-revenue startups – early-stage companies with little or no tax liability, for whom the refundable cash offset is often the single largest source of non-dilutive funding. If this is you, our companion guide on the R&D Tax Incentive for foreign startups covers the founder-specific angles.
• Scaling technology and biotech companies – software, AI, life sciences, medtech and advanced-manufacturing businesses whose claims attract the closest ATO attention and most need a defensible technical narrative.

Why use a specialist adviser, and where claims go wrong

The R&D Tax Incentive is self-assessed, so anyone can lodge a claim. The reason most companies engage a specialist is that the rules that decide eligibility are exactly the rules that are easiest to get wrong, and getting them wrong does not just reduce the claim, it can void it.

The on-own-behalf and IP rules

To claim, the R&D must be conducted for your company’s own benefit, and your company must hold the rights to the results. For a foreign-owned subsidiary this is a live risk: if the work is genuinely done on behalf of, or funded by, the overseas parent, and the parent owns the resulting IP, the Australian entity may not be entitled to claim at all. We structure the intercompany arrangements and contracts so the claim is supportable, and we flag transfer-pricing exposure under the associated-entity rules early.

The overseas activity rule

R&D generally has to be conducted in Australia. Work done overseas only qualifies under a positive Overseas Finding from AusIndustry, and that application must be lodged before the end of the income year with no extensions. The overseas work also has to satisfy a test that it cannot reasonably be done in Australia, and a rule that overseas expenditure cannot exceed Australian R&D expenditure. Cost savings alone never justify an offshore finding. Miss the deadline and the overseas spend is simply lost.

The core-versus-supporting test

Only experimental activities whose outcome cannot be known in advance, and that are conducted to generate new knowledge, qualify as core R&D. Routine software configuration, market testing, and ordinary engineering using established methods do not. DIY claimants tend to over-claim core activities and under-document the technical uncertainty, which is the first thing a reviewer pulls apart. We map each activity to the legislative tests and write the technical narrative that supports it.

What it costs and how engagement works

We do not publish a single R&D claim price because the right fee depends on the size and complexity of your R&D program. What we can tell you is how we structure it, so there are no surprises:

• Step one is a fixed-fee eligibility assessment. Before any full engagement, we give you a fixed-fee review that tells you whether you have a claim worth pursuing and roughly what it is worth. This is deliberately low-commitment so you are not paying to find out you do not qualify.
• Claim preparation is quoted as a fixed fee wherever possible, based on scope, so you know the cost up front rather than watching an hourly meter. For some engagements a contingent (success-based) fee is available. We will tell you which model fits your situation and why.
• You always know the fee before work starts. No percentage of your refund disappears without you having agreed to it in advance.

For context, R&D claim fees across the Australian market commonly run from several thousand dollars for a straightforward startup claim to materially more for complex multi-activity programs, and are charged as flat fees, hourly rates, or a percentage of the refund. Our approach is to lead with the fixed-fee assessment so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.

If you also need the underlying Australian company set up before you can claim, we handle that too. Company registration starts from AU$900 (the ASIC incorporation fee is AU$611 until 30 June 2026 and AU$636 from 1 July 2026), and a claiming entity needs an ABN, TFN and usually GST registration, plus a resident director and registered office. See our full pricing for the entity-setup elements.

How a foreign-owned company actually claims

The offset flows through an eligible Australian company. The most common and cleanest structure for a foreign business is an Australian Pty Ltd subsidiary, which is automatically eligible regardless of foreign ownership. Foreign corporations that are Australian tax residents, or that have a permanent establishment here under a relevant Double Tax Agreement, can also qualify. If you do not yet have the entity, our company formation service sets up the Pty Ltd, and our taxation services team coordinates the tax registrations and ongoing lodgements that the claim depends on.

Whichever route applies, three things have to line up: the entity must be eligible and entitled to the results of the R&D, the activities have to meet the core and supporting tests, and the registration and tax-return claim have to be lodged on time and tell a consistent story. That alignment is the job we do.

The verified numbers (2025-26)

For the full eligibility detail, rate tables, caps and clawback rules, see our reference guide: R&D Tax Incentive Australia for foreign companies.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a consultant to claim the R&D Tax Incentive?

Legally, no, the program is self-assessed and you can lodge your own claim. In practice most companies use a specialist, because the eligibility tests (core versus supporting activities, the on-own-behalf rule, overseas findings) are technical, and a claim that fails review can be clawed back with penalties. Note too that a registered tax agent is not automatically an R&D expert, the two are different specialisations. We are CA and CTA qualified and prepare R&D claims specifically for foreign-owned companies.

How much does an R&D tax claim service cost?

It depends on the size and complexity of your R&D program. We start every engagement with a fixed-fee eligibility assessment so you can decide before committing, then quote claim preparation as a fixed fee wherever possible, with a contingent (success-based) fee available for some engagements. You always agree the fee before work begins. Across the market, R&D claim fees commonly run from several thousand dollars for a simple startup claim upward, charged as flat, hourly, or percentage-of-refund fees.

Can a foreign-owned company claim the R&D Tax Incentive?

Yes. An Australian-incorporated Pty Ltd is eligible regardless of who owns it, provided the R&D is conducted in Australia (or covered by an Overseas Finding), your company is entitled to the results of the R&D, and you meet the AU$20,000 minimum spend and other tests. The areas that need care for foreign groups are the aggregated-turnover test (your parent’s worldwide revenue counts) and the on-own-behalf and IP rules, which is exactly what we structure for you.

What happens if I get the claim wrong?

An R&D claim that does not meet the eligibility tests can be amended down or rejected on review, and the offset already received can be clawed back, with interest and potentially penalties. From 1 July 2025 AusIndustry applies a stricter assessment approach to registrations. The defence against this is a claim that is correctly scoped and contemporaneously documented from the start, which is what we prepare and what we support if a review happens.

How long does an R&D tax claim take?

You register your activities with AusIndustry within 10 months of your year end, then claim the offset in your company tax return. Once a complete claim is lodged, refundable offsets are typically paid by the ATO within weeks, subject to any review. We recommend starting the eligibility assessment and record-keeping early in the income year rather than at the deadline, so nothing is reconstructed after the fact.

Can you both set up my company and prepare the R&D claim?

Yes. If you do not yet have an Australian entity, we incorporate the Pty Ltd, appoint a resident director, and handle ABN, TFN and GST registration, then prepare the R&D claim through the same firm. One relationship covers entity setup, ongoing compliance, and the R&D Tax Incentive claim.

This page is general information, not tax advice. The R&D Tax Incentive is a self-assessment program with complex eligibility rules. Engage a qualified adviser before lodging a claim. Prepared under the supervision of James Carey, CA, CTA, JP.