Not Patently Obvious - Don’t hide your Intellectual Property
The thought of protecting Intellectual Property (IP) can be intimidating for many businesses as it sounds complicated and costly. As a result, many businesses have neither protected their IP nor realised full commercial value from it. This means that they are missing out on a government tax incentive called Patent Box which rewards innovation and reduces the corporation tax on profits from patented income to 10%.
It could be that the patented element that qualifies is minor and could simply be small technical improvements on existing products or processes, yet 100% of a company’s worldwide profits arising from qualifying IP income should qualify for the 10% Patent Box corporation tax relief.
Corporation Tax is due to increase from 19% to 25% from 1 April 2023 for companies with profits over £250,000. So in the future Patent Box claims could provide an even greater benefit as companies will be saving 15% tax on their qualifying IP profits.
Many businesses have heard of another government innovation tax incentives scheme called Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits and many have claimed successfully via this. Looking for commercial value in IP is a natural extension of claiming R&D tax credits but is often overlooked.
Claiming R&D tax credits and reducing tax on patented income is only part of the financial reward for innovation. Many companies have not realised the commercial potential of IP, often seeing IP as merely something to protect; however, in addition, IP can drastically increase intangible asset value and the subsequent valuation of the business.
Business Cash Enabler’s service combines scientific and technical knowledge along with IP specialists and tax experts.
For a free assessment contact: enquiries@businesscashenabler.co.uk or call Rob Sowden on 07732 627085
www.businesscashenabler.co.uk
