They say that history repeats itself and so it would seem for research and development (R&D) tax relief and the PAYE/National Insurance contributions (NICs) cap. The cap was a key feature of the payable tax credit for SMEs up to its removal in 2012 and it is now making a comeback. At Budget 2018, the government announced that the cap, or a version of it, would be reintroduced from April 2020 onwards.

This article looks at how the cap is likely to work, highlighting the types of businesses most likely to be affected, and a roundup of recent developments in the world of R&D tax relief.