R&D Tax Incentive and government grants specialist, working with software and pharma companies.
R&D Tax Incentive: FY2024-25 Registration Deadline Is 30 April 2026
If your company conducted R&D activities between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, you have until 30 April 2026 to register them with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR). Miss that date and you lose the claim entirely. Extensions are available only in limited circumstances – never rely on one.
Prime Partners R&D Tax Incentive Services
Our specialist R&D advisory team operates under Prime Innovation, our innovation and government incentives division. The team comprises chartered accountants with hands-on R&D claim experience across software, manufacturing, agriculture and professional services.
We charge a fixed fee for R&D claim preparation. No percentage of your refund, no success fees. The ATO has publicly flagged contingency-fee R&D advisers as a compliance risk, and you want an adviser whose fee stays the same regardless of claim size.
If you have not registered your FY2024-25 R&D activities yet, do not wait. The deadline is less than three weeks away.
The 30 April 2026 Deadline
The R&D Tax Incentive is a two-step process, and this trips people up. Most businesses know they need to claim the offset in their company tax return. What many miss is that registration with DISR must happen first, with its own earlier, hard deadline.
Step 1: Register with DISR (Deadline: 30 April 2026)
You must register through the DISR customer portal within 10 months of income year end. For standard 30 June year-end companies, the FY2024-25 deadline is 30 April 2026.
Registration requires you to describe each core R&D activity and supporting activities, the technical uncertainty you were resolving, the new knowledge you were pursuing, and why a competent professional could not have determined the outcome in advance.
Once processed, DISR issues a registration number. Without it, your accountant cannot complete the R&D schedule in your tax return.
Step 2: Claim in Your Company Tax Return
After registration, include the R&D Tax Incentive Schedule in your company tax return. For most businesses using a tax agent, this is not due until late 2026. But Step 1 must be done by 30 April.
Do Not Count on an Extension
The 10-month deadline is legislated. Extensions of time are available only in limited circumstances and must be applied for – they are not granted automatically. If you miss 30 April 2026 without an approved extension, your FY2024-25 R&D claim is gone.
What Is the R&D Tax Incentive Worth?
Companies With Turnover Under $20 Million
The refundable offset is 43.5% of eligible R&D expenditure (the 25% company tax rate plus an 18.5% premium). If your company is in a loss position, this comes back as a cash refund from the ATO.
| Eligible R&D Spend | Profitable Company | Company in Losses |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $18,500 | $43,500 |
| $250,000 | $46,250 | $108,750 |
| $500,000 | $92,500 | $217,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $185,000 | $435,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $370,000 | $870,000 |
There is no dollar cap on the refundable offset under current law – a $4 million cap was proposed in a 2019 bill but was never legislated.
Companies With Turnover of $20 Million or More
The non-refundable offset is tiered based on R&D intensity:
- R&D intensity up to 2%: Company tax rate + 8.5% premium
- R&D intensity above 2%: Company tax rate + 16.5% premium
Eligible expenditure is capped at $150 million per income year.
Key Dates for FY2024-25 R&D Claims
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2024 | FY2024-25 income year starts |
| 30 June 2025 | FY2024-25 income year ends |
| 1 July 2025 | DISR registration portal opens for FY2024-25 |
| 30 April 2026 | Absolute deadline to register R&D activities with DISR |
| Late 2026 | Company tax return due (with R&D schedule) |
The Compliance Environment Has Changed
Both the ATO and DISR have significantly ramped up compliance activity. In the 2022-23 income year, 12,956 companies claimed a combined $16.2 billion in R&D expenditure. A programme that size attracts enforcement resources.
DISR has also tightened its compliance approach. Advisers report that from mid-2025 reviews proceed straight to formal examination, and that where a single eligibility requirement is not substantiated the activity is rejected without the remaining requirements being assessed.
The registration form has also changed. From 15 August 2025, an updated registration form applies in the customer portal, with expanded technical description sections and a layout that tracks more closely to the legislative tests.
Five Mistakes That Cost Businesses Their R&D Claims
1. Missing the Registration Deadline
Every year, businesses that did genuine R&D lose their entire claim because nobody lodged the registration in time.
2. Weak Activity Descriptions
“We developed new software” will not survive a DISR review. Your description needs to pin down the specific technical uncertainty, what you tried, and why a competent professional could not have determined the outcome in advance.
3. Overstating Expenditure
Claiming 100% of an employee’s salary when they spent 30% of their time on R&D is a red flag. The ATO wants a reasonable basis for splitting costs. Timesheets, project management records, time-tracking tools all work.
4. No Contemporaneous Documentation
Your records need to be from the time the R&D was actually happening. DISR assessors check metadata, timestamps and document properties to verify authenticity.
5. Confusing Registration With the Tax Claim
Two separate steps. DISR registration first, then the R&D schedule in your company tax return. We have seen businesses register on time but forget the R&D schedule when they lodge their return.
How Prime Partners Can Help
Our R&D Tax Incentive advisory team handles the full process: eligibility review, registration, tax return preparation and compliance support.
- Eligibility assessment against the legislative definition
- Registration preparation with activity descriptions to DISR’s standard
- Expenditure calculation with proper apportionment methods
- Record-keeping processes for contemporaneous evidence
- Tax return lodgement including the R&D Tax Incentive Schedule
- Review defence if DISR or the ATO review your claim
Fixed Fee. No Percentage of Your Refund.
Our fee is fixed and agreed before we start. No percentage of your refund, no success fee. More on why fee structure matters when choosing an R&D adviser.
Industries We Work With
We work with R&D clients in software development, manufacturing, agriculture, engineering, medical devices and professional services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get Your FY2024-25 R&D Claim Started
The 30 April 2026 deadline is close. If you have not registered your FY2024-25 R&D activities, get in touch now.
Phone: 02 8378 2421
Email: Contact us online
Office: North Sydney | Orange, NSW