RCK Partners commissioned independent research conducted by Censuswide, surveying 254 CFOs from R&D-active SMEs that have claimed, or considered claiming, R&D tax relief within the last five years. The data was collected between 01/07/2026 - 07/07/2026.
Featured by The Times, this research explores the impact of recent R&D tax relief reforms on UK SMEs. As the first independent primary study of its kind, it provides a comprehensive assessment of how these changes are affecting innovative businesses across the UK.
July 2026, London.
* Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. They adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR princip
The research reveals that reforms introduced by HMRC to prevent abuse of the R&D tax relief scheme have led genuine innovators to cancel research, shelve projects, and reduce headcount amid growing uncertainty.
The findings revealed the following key statistics:
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Hired fewer R&D or technical staff than planned | 34.65% |
| Delayed an R&D project | 28.74% |
| Reduced the scope of an R&D project | 28.35% |
| Reduced offshore R&D teams or projects | 24.02% |
| Decided not to submit an R&D tax relief claim | 22.83% |
| Cancelled an R&D project | 20.08% |
| None of the above | 1.18% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| They led us to reduce our investment in R&D (Net) | 62.2% |
| They have had no material impact (Net) | 25.2% |
| They led us to increase our investment in R&D (Net) | 12.6% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Delay or reduce hiring | 32.68% |
| Make redundancies or not replace staff who left | 29.53% |
| Take out a loan or other external finance to cover the gap | 29.53% |
| Delay payments to staff, suppliers or HMRC | 26.77% |
| Draw on personal or director funds | 25.98% |
| Delay or cancel investment in a project | 13.39% |
| Delays and uncertainty haven't led my business to do anything in particular | 1.18% |
| My business hasn't experienced any delays or uncertainties | 0.39% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| We kept our overseas arrangements and stopped claiming R&D tax relief altogether | 48.03% |
| We considered relocating R&D/development work to the UK but decided against it | 28.74% |
| We kept our overseas arrangements and still claim on reduced UK-only costs | 16.14% |
| We have relocated (or are relocating) R&D/development work to the UK to keep qualifying | 5.12% |
| N/A — my business has never had any overseas arrangements | 1.97% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Overseas talent advantages outweighed the relief on offer | 35.17% |
| Overseas cost outweighed the relief on offer | 32.2% |
| The cut to R&D tax relief rates made onshoring uneconomic | 31.78% |
| Our overseas work meets the exception for activity that cannot be done in the UK | 31.78% |
| No reason | 0.42% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Less than one month | 0% |
| 1–3 months | 37.4% |
| 4–6 months | 59.06% |
| More than 6 months | 0.79% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Yes | 69.69% |
| No | 21.26% |
| I don't know | 9.06% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 27.95% |
| Somewhat agree | 43.7% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 20.87% |
| Somewhat disagree | 5.51% |
| Strongly disagree | 1.97% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 31.1% |
| Somewhat agree | 40.16% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 17.72% |
| Somewhat disagree | 9.45% |
| Strongly disagree | 1.57% |
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 22.83% |
| Somewhat agree | 48.43% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 19.69% |
| Somewhat disagree | 7.87% |
| Strongly disagree | 1.18% |
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