R&D Tax Relief Certification
Be the first to get certified in R&D tax relief for £1,500+VAT
Earn yourself a rigorous and practical qualification to support your work in R&D tax relief.
Get to grips with the crucial foundations of R&D tax relief that you need to work effectively in an R&D or business development team.
Foundation Level Certification
This is the industry’s first certification in R&D tax relief.
It provides the basic level of understanding of R&D tax relief that anyone would require to work effectively in an R&D or business development team. You’ll find it rigorous and practical, with clear applications to your everyday role and responsibilities.
It’s built for a wide range of roles, so that everyone from the business development team to the support staff and those preparing claims can work from the same foundational understanding of R&D tax relief.
Core Training Modules
The Foundation Certification is based on these six courses that span the most essential knowledge for anyone working in R&D tax relief.
Who is it for?
Foundation level certification is for anyone involved in the process of a claim – from screening and recruiting clients through to claim preparation and enquiry defence.
When and where is it running?
The training and certification are fully remote, and you can access most of the training on your own schedule. There will also be 6 live office hours sessions, as detailed below – these will be recorded for those unable to attend.
First cohort starts 3 September 2024 and runs until end November. The next cohort will start in April 2025.
Certification is valid for 2 years and you’ll be invited to recertify.
How much does it cost?
A Foundation Certification costs £1500+VAT per person, which includes the initial diagnostic assessment, certification training programme and exam.
Certification Training Programme
| Week 1
2 September |
Diagnostic Assessment
The assessment will test your existing knowledge of the 6 key topics. We’ll provide you with personalised feedback to allow you to prioritise your individual training needs. |
| Week 2
9 September |
Training
This week we will focus on Marketing and Ethics. |
| Week 3
16 September |
Training
This week we will focus on Screening and Selling. |
| Week 4
23 September |
Office Hours
This week we’ll offer two live office hours calls. You’ll be invited to submit questions in advance concerning the training courses from weeks 2 and 3. These sessions will be recorded and made available to review. |
| Week 5
30 September |
Training
This week we will focus on the Merged R&D Scheme. |
| Week 6
7 October |
Training
This week we will focus on Explaining Eligibility. |
| Week 7
14 October |
Office Hours
This week we’ll offer two live office hours calls for the courses from weeks 5 and 6. |
| Week 8
21 October |
Training Courses
This week we will focus on Qualifying Costs. |
| Week 9
28 October |
Training Courses
This week we will focus on Accounting Basics. |
| Week 10
4 November |
Office Hours
This week we’ll offer two live office hours calls for the courses from weeks 8 and 9. |
| Week 11
11 November |
Revision
This week we’ll provide support with revision and a chance to ask any final questions about the training material. |
| Weeks 12 & 13
18 November |
Exam
We’ll invite you to schedule your exam for a convenient time within this 2-week window. |
More Information
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What payment methods are available?
The simplest option is to pay your fees in full by debit or credit card when you sign up through the website. You can also opt to pay a deposit when you register, and to pay the balance in full before the cohort begins.
If you need to pay by BACS, please contact us to arrange this.
Do you offer a payment plan?
If you need to pay in instalments, we can offer a payment plan over the 3 months of the certification. You will only be able to sit the certification exam if we have received all your payments beforehand. We’ll send more details about this after you’ve registered and paid the deposit.
Do you offer any discounts?
We occasionally get asked if discounts are available for certain groups, like students or sole practitioners. At this time, we’re not offering any discounts on certification.
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Do members get a discounted rate on certification?
As members already have access to our training academy, they will pay a reduced fee of £950+VAT to take the certification and participate in the cohort along with everyone else.
Can I join as a member and take the certification at the same time?
Yes, if you’d like to – membership provides access to a wider range of training and additional support with claim preparation. If you decide you need both at the same time, we’re happy to welcome you as a member.
If your priority is to focus on certification and you don’t need the additional support for your work on claims, then we recommend you take the certification first, and join as a member on completion. This will give you the best value combination of training resources and support.
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What will the exam be like?
For the Foundation certification, the exam will be scenario-based with multiple choice questions. It will be a timed, closed book exam, and will be secured with a remote proctoring platform. This may include video invigilation.
The Advanced certification exam is likely to have both open and closed book assessments, and a wider variety of question types and exercises. We will release more details of this in due course.
Will there be a practice exam?
We are not able to offer practice exams or past papers for our first cohort. Our diagnostic assessment will offer you an estimation of your knowledge at the beginning of the training process. You’ll be able to retake this during the revision week if you want to get a measure of your progress.
How will the exam be scored?
Certification will be offered on a pass/fail basis, with the pass mark at 70%.
If you score between 50 and 70% we’ll discuss your options to resit within a few weeks. If you score below 50% you won’t be able to resit the exam. Instead, we’ll discuss your options for further training before retaking the exam in a future cohort.
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What if I need more than 10 weeks to complete the training and prepare for the exam?
If you feel you need more time to work on the training before you take the exam, there are a range of options.
You can choose to join as a member to give you the flexibility to study on your own schedule, and then take the exam only when you are ready.
You’d also be welcome to join a second cohort to repeat the training with another group.
Can I get extra support with the training?
If you want extra support during the training period, from Cohort 2 onwards we plan to offer an Enhanced Support package. This could be for one individual, or for a small group who work together already.
Can I skip the training and just take the exam?
In future, there will be an ‘exam only’ option, where you can sign up just to take the certification exam in November or June, along with a training cohort.
This can work well alongside membership of The R&D Community. Membership gives you the flexibility to take the training courses in your own time, and you can use our Helpline for support with the training material.
How does the support work for the cohort?
Everyone who joins the cohort will be invited to join a private community. At present this will be in the form of a WhatsApp group. Every week we’ll offer encouragement and resources relevant to the training topics for that week, as described above. You can use the group to submit questions for the Q&A calls, as well as to ask questions of the group as you go through the training in real time.
We’ll offer the same encouragement and resources by email, and you’ll also be able to email questions for the Q&A calls, so you can still participate even if you can’t or don’t want to join the group on WhatsApp.
In the future, we may provide the support through a different community platform.
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Have HMRC approved this certification?
Tax advice is currently an unregulated profession. HMRC has set out its standard for agents – the certification is aligned with those standards and should provide evidence that you have the capability to meet the standards.
We will also be inviting HMRC to take our certification programme so that we can ensure it’s fit for purpose. They have indicated some interest in this approach and we are in ongoing discussions with them about the role of certification in the context of improving standards in tax.
Do the professional bodies recognise this certification?
We have had ongoing discussions with professional bodies, such as the CIOT, during development of the certification. Once the certification is established, our aim is for it be recognised as evidencing relevant CPD.
Has your training been independently assessed?
Our training has been reviewed by many R&D tax relief experts within the industry and has been developed and updated based on their feedback.
We are in the process of having all the training assessed and CPD-certified by an independent body, so that you can be confident in its quality and validity.
Why should I trust a certification from The R&D Community?
Our team has extensive experience of working in R&D tax relief. Our Founder, Richard, has started and grown an R&D consultancy company, an R&D software company, and The R&D Community, which provides support and training to R&D advisors. Other members of our team have worked in the Big 4 and bring significant experience to their roles in supporting members and designing new specialist training courses.
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What if I get certified and then leave my employer?
As you have earned the certification, it goes with you. If your employer has paid for your certification, they may have a claw back clause if you leave within a certain time period.
What if I change employers during the certification?
Again, this depends on your agreement with your employer. From our perspective, certification fees are non-refundable in these circumstances. You are welcome to continue your certification wherever you are employed.
What if I can’t complete the certification?
At our discretion, we may offer you a partial refund, or move your registration to a future certification cohort, if exceptional circumstances prevent you from completing the certification with your cohort.
