Overview
Proposed changes, not yet law. Proposed from 1 July 2028, announced in the 2026-27 Budget (12 May 2026) and not yet legislated: a 4.5 percentage point increase in offset rates for core R&D; removal of supporting R&D activities from eligibility; intensity threshold reduced from 2 percent to 1.5 percent; refundable offset turnover threshold raised to A$50 million; minimum notional deductions raised from A$20,000 to A$50,000; maximum expenditure threshold raised from A$150 million to A$200 million; companies more than 10 years old no longer eligible for the refundable offset. Current rules apply until then.
| Scheme | Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&DTI) |
|---|---|
| Administered by | Department of Industry, Science and Resources (registration) and the Australian Taxation Office (claims) |
| Benefit type | Tax offset |
| Refundable offset | Corporate tax rate plus an 18.5% premium, for aggregated turnover under A$20 million |
| Non-refundable offset | Corporate tax rate plus 8.5% (R&D intensity up to 2%) or 16.5% (above 2%), for aggregated turnover of A$20 million or more |
| Expenditure threshold | Tax offset for R&D expenditure of up to A$150 million a year |
| Before you claim | Register R&D activities with the department within 10 months of the end of the income year |
Who can claim. Corporations incorporated in Australia, foreign corporations that are Australian residents for tax purposes, and some foreign corporations carrying on business through a permanent establishment in Australia. You must spend at least A$20,000 on eligible R&D in the income year, unless you use a research service provider or contribute to the Cooperative Research Centres Program.
Eligibility
Core R&D activities are experimental activities whose outcome cannot be known in advance from current knowledge. They follow a systematic progression of work, from hypothesis to experiment, observation and evaluation, leading to logical conclusions, and are conducted to generate new knowledge. Supporting R&D activities are directly related to a core activity, and some must also be undertaken for the dominant purpose of supporting it.
Documentation
Keep records that show the hypothesis, the experiments, the results and the conclusions for each registered activity, and that link expenditure to those activities.
Calculation and rates
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Refundable offset | Corporate tax rate plus an 18.5% premium, aggregated turnover under A$20 million |
| Non-refundable offset | Corporate tax rate plus 8.5%, R&D intensity up to 2% |
| Non-refundable offset, higher intensity | Corporate tax rate plus 16.5%, R&D intensity above 2% |
| Expenditure threshold | Offset for R&D expenditure of up to A$150 million a year |
How to claim
- Register your activitiesApply to the department within 10 months of the end of the income year in which the R&D took place.
- Claim the offsetComplete the R&D tax incentive schedule with the company tax return.
- Keep supporting recordsHold evidence for the registered activities and the expenditure claimed.
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Registration | Within 10 months of the end of the income year |
| Claim | In the company tax return, after registration |
Official sources
- Overview of the R&D Tax Incentivebusiness.gov.au
- Check if you are eligible for the R&D Tax Incentivebusiness.gov.au
- R&D Tax Incentivebusiness.gov.au
- Rates of R&D tax incentive offsetAustralian Taxation Office
Educational content only, not tax advice. General information on the Australia scheme, checked against the sources above on 1 October 2026. See the disclaimer.
Programs for Australia
Core and supporting activities, the refundable and non-refundable offsets, annual registration and the A$150 million threshold.
| Program | For | |
|---|---|---|
| R&D Tax Fundamentals The grounding every claimant needs, in any of the countries we cover: what research and development means for tax purposes, how a claim is built from project to filing, which records stand up to review, and how to work with an advisor from an informed position. | Companies & in-house finance teams | Register interest |
| Technical Teams Program For engineers, scientists and project leads whose work is the subject of a claim: why their input matters, how to identify uncertainty, record work as it happens and write the narrative. | Companies & in-house finance teams | Register interest |
| Startups and Scale-ups For founders and early finance hires: whether a claim is worth making, how to set up records from day one, how funding interacts with the incentive and what the first claim involves. | Companies & in-house finance teams | Register interest |
| In-House Finance Team Program For finance and tax teams that want to run R&D claims internally, or manage an external advisor from a position of knowledge: project identification workshops, time capture, cost allocation, the technical narrative, internal review and fee benchmarking. | Companies & in-house finance teams | Register interest |
| Advisor and Practitioner Program For accountants and advisors who prepare claims for clients: legislation and guidance, eligibility analysis, advanced calculations, technical interviews, reports, disputes, and ethics, integrity and fee arrangements. | Tax professionals | Register interest |
| Leadership Briefing: R&D Tax Relief for Executives A short, board-level overview for founders, directors and executives: what the incentive is worth to the business, the risks of a poorly prepared claim, how to govern the process, and what good advisors cost. | Companies & in-house finance teams | Register interest |