Documentation and compliance
Contemporaneous records, technical narratives, time tracking, responding to a tax authority review, and correcting a claim.
Country definitions verified on 1 October 2026
Articles
05 Sept 2026How to document R&D activities as you go: a calendar for the financial yearContemporaneous records are the difference between a claim that is defended in an afternoon and one that is argued about for a year. Here is a documentation routine a busy team can actually keep.4 min read28 Aug 2026Contemporaneous documentation: what reviewers actually look forEvery scheme expects records that support the claim, and reviewers give most weight to records made at the time the work was done. Few claimants know what a reviewer does with them. Here is how evidence is read on the other side of the table, and what that means for what you keep.4 min read21 Aug 2026Writing a technical narrative that survives reviewThe narrative is the one document every reviewer reads. Most are written by the wrong person, in the wrong order, about the wrong thing. A structure that works in every jurisdiction, and how to write it with the people who did the work.3 min read10 Jul 2026Why claim integrity matters: the real cost of an over-claimed creditA claim that is larger on paper and weaker in substance is not a better claim. It is a liability with a delay. What an over-claim actually costs, why authorities have hardened their approach, and what a well-governed claim looks like.3 min read
Documentation and compliance in each country
Each country defines the rules in its own words. Start with the definition, then read the full section of the country guide.
United StatesKeep records that link each business component to the four-part test and to the wages, supplies and contract research costs you claim.Documentation and compliance in United StatesUnited KingdomEvery claim needs an additional information form that describes the R&D projects and breaks down the qualifying costs.Documentation and compliance in United KingdomIrelandKeep records made at the time that show the scientific or technological uncertainty, the work carried out to resolve it and the expenditure incurred.Documentation and compliance in IrelandCanadaForm T661 asks you to describe the work and calculate your expenditure.Documentation and compliance in CanadaAustraliaKeep records that show the hypothesis, the experiments, the results and the conclusions for each registered activity, and that link expenditure to those activities.Documentation and compliance in AustraliaNew ZealandApproval comes before the claim.Documentation and compliance in New ZealandSingaporeKeep documents that show each project's objective, its novelty or technical risk, the work done and the qualifying expenditure.Documentation and compliance in Singapore
Related programIn-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.