Show the notional R&D deduction amounts at Part A in whole dollars only. Do not multiply the amounts in Part A by the offset percentage to which the company is entitled, this is done in Part E – R&D tax offset calculation.
In allocating notional R&D deduction amounts to the items 1 to 9 in Part A, choose the item most appropriate to the expenditure or decline in value amount in question.
Australian owned R&D column
Enter in this column all amounts that relate to R&D activities that the company has conducted for itself where it is a corporation that is:
- incorporated under an Australian law, or
- incorporated under foreign law but an Australian resident for income tax purposes.
Foreign owned R&D column
Enter in this column all amounts that your company (an R&D entity) incurs for another company that is:
- a foreign corporation, and
- a resident of a country with which Australia has a comprehensive double tax agreement.
The activities must be conducted under a written agreement between the entities.
Additionally, enter amounts in this column for amounts incurred if the R&D entity is a foreign corporation carrying on business through a permanent establishment in Australia that can be claimed under the R&D tax incentive.
If you are claiming amounts in this column, you will also need to consider other taxation implications in regard to your related-party international dealings. For more information, see International dealings schedule instructions 2018 (NAT 73345) and the taxation rulings referred to within that publication.
If an R&D entity is entitled under section 355-100 of the ITAA 1997 to an R&D tax offset for an income year for expenditure it can notionally deduct under sections 355-205, 355-480 or 355-580 of the ITAA 1997, that expenditure:
- cannot be taken into account by any entity in working out a deduction under any provision for any income year, and
- cannot be taken into account by any entity in working out another tax offset under any provision for any income year.
If an R&D entity is entitled under section 355-100 of the ITAA 1997 to an R&D tax offset for an income year for the decline in value under sections 355-305, 355-315, 355-520 or 355-525 of the ITAA 1997, that decline in value (to the extent that the asset is used for the purpose of conducting R&D activities):
- cannot be taken into account by any entity in working out a deduction under any other provision (other than section 40-292 or 40-293 of the ITAA 1997) for any income year, and
- cannot be taken into account by any entity in working out another tax offset under any other provision for any income year.
Do not include any amounts at Part A for building expenditure, interest expenditure, core technology expenditure, non-arm's length amounts, not-at-risk amounts, group mark-up amounts or expenditure incurred, but not paid, to associates.
Item 1 R&D expenditure – Research service provider (RSP)
Enter at item 1 R&D expenditure – Research service provider (RSP) the expenditure you have incurred to an RSP, to the extent that it has been incurred on R&D activities.
Apportion your expenditure between R&D activities and other activities that you undertake and show expenditure on R&D activities only at this item.
Separate the expenditure at item 1 between Australian owned R&D activities (A) and foreign owned R&D activities (B).
In most circumstances, expenditure to an RSP is not subject to the $20,000 notional deduction threshold. You will therefore be able to claim an R&D tax offset for this expenditure, regardless of the amount. However, these rules will only apply where:
- the RSP is not an associate of the R&D entity
- the R&D activities are within a research field for which the RSP is registered under the IR&D Act.
See also:
Item 2 R&D expenditure – Contract expenditure (not RSP)
Enter at item 2 R&D expenditure – Contract expenditure (not RSP) the amount of expenditure you have incurred under a contract to another party (other than an RSP), to the extent that it has been incurred on R&D activities.
Apportion your expenditure between R&D activities and other activities that you undertake. Show expenditure on R&D activities only at this item.
Separate the expenditure at item 2 between Australian owned R&D activities (C) and foreign owned R&D activities (D).
Do not show any amounts at this item for expenditure incurred to an associate. If you have entered into a contract with your associate, you are only eligible to claim the amount incurred in the income year to the extent it is paid. Amounts paid to an associate are shown at Part A, item 6. You also need to provide further details of expenditure to your associates in Part D – R&D expenditure to associates.
You cannot claim this type of expenditure on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
See also:
- Expenditure you incur under contract to other parties
- Keeping records and calculating your notional deductions
Item 3 R&D expenditure – Salary expenditure
Enter at item 3 R&D expenditure – Salary expenditure the amount of salary expenditure you have incurred for all of your employees, to the extent that it has been incurred on R&D activities.
The amounts shown at this item include expenditure on salary and wages (and associated on costs) of:
- managers or supervisors of research staff
- researchers
- technical employees
- supervisors of research staff conducting R&D activities.
Apportion your expenditure between R&D activities and other activities that you undertake. Show expenditure on R&D activities only at this item.
Separate the expenditure at item 3 between Australian owned R&D activities (E) and foreign owned R&D activities (F).
Do not show any amounts at this item for expenditure incurred to an associate. If you incurred expenditure to your associate, you are only eligible to claim the amount incurred in the income year to the extent it is paid. Amounts paid to an associate are shown at Part A, item 6. You also need to provide further details of expenditure to your associates in Part D – R&D expenditure to associates.
You cannot claim this type of expenditure on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
See also:
Item 4 R&D expenditure – Other
Enter at item 4 R&D expenditure – Other the expenditure, to the extent that it has been incurred on R&D activities, that is not required to be shown at any other item of Part A. Types of expenditure to be shown at this item may include:
- administrative costs and overheads incurred on R&D activities
- expenditure on overseas activities that are covered by a finding made by Innovation Australia under section 28C of the IR&D Act.
Apportion your expenditure between R&D activities and other activities that you undertake. Show expenditure on R&D activities only at this item.
Separate the expenditure at item 4 between Australian owned R&D activities (G) and foreign owned R&D activities (H).
Do not show any amounts at this item for expenditure incurred to an associate. If you incurred expenditure to your associate, you are only eligible to claim the amount incurred in the income year to the extent it is paid. Amounts paid to an associate are shown at Part A item 6. You also need to provide further details of expenditure to your associates in Part D – R&D expenditure to associates.
You cannot claim this type of expenditure on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
See also:
Item 5 R&D expenditure – Feedstock input expenditure
Enter at item 5 R&D expenditure – Feedstock input expenditure the total amount of expenditure incurred in the income year on acquiring or producing feedstock inputs that are transformed or processed during R&D activities in producing one or more tangible products (feedstock outputs).
Feedstock input expenditure also includes:
- the total cost of energy input directly into the transformation or processing, and
- the decline in value of assets used in acquiring or producing the feedstock inputs to these R&D activities.
Separate your expenditure at item 5 between Australian owned R&D activities (I) and foreign owned R&D activities (J).
You cannot claim this type of expenditure on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
An amount included in Feedstock input expenditure must not also be included at any other label in Part A.
The amount to be shown at this item may not form part of any feedstock adjustment in the 2017–18 year. However, it will represent expenditure on feedstock inputs and should be recorded separately from the other expenditure types in Part A. It may be expenditure to be taken into account in calculating the amount of a feedstock adjustment in the current or a future year (see Part B – Feedstock).
See also:
Item 6 R&D expenditure – Paid to associates in the current year
Enter at item 6 R&D expenditure – Paid to associates in the current year the total amount of expenditure you have paid to your associates in 2017–18, to the extent that it has been incurred on R&D activities. You could include expenditure you have paid to associates in the current year that was either:
- incurred in 2017–2018
- incurred in earlier income years commencing on or after 1 July 2011
provided you have not claimed this expenditure under other provisions of the ITAA 1936 or ITAA 1997.
Apportion your expenditure between R&D activities and other activities that you undertake. Show expenditure on R&D activities only at this item.
Transfer this amount to Part D label E4 R&D expenditure paid to associates in the current year.
Separate the expenditure at item 6 between Australian owned R&D activities (K) and foreign owned R&D activities (L).
You cannot claim this type of expenditure on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
If you have incurred expenditure to your associate, but it is not paid in 2017–18, do not include that amount at K or L item 6. For more information about how you treat this expenditure that is incurred but not yet paid, see Preliminary calculation – Add back of research and development (R&D) accounting expenditure and Part D – R&D expenditure to associates.
For more information about what amounts may be claimed as 'Expenditure paid to associates in the current year' see:
- Part D – R&D expenditure to associates in these instructions
- Expenditure incurred to an associate
- R&D expenditure paid to your associate in your claim year in our guide Amounts you can claim.
See also:
Item 7 R&D assets – Decline in value
Enter at item 7 R&D assets – Decline in value the decline in value amount notionally deductible under subdivision 355-E and section 355-520 of the ITAA 1997 for depreciating assets used in R&D activities.
Separate your decline in value amount at item 7 between Australian owned R&D activities (M) and foreign owned R&D activities (N).
You cannot claim these amounts on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
For more information about what amounts may be claimed for 'Decline in value' under the R&D tax incentive, see Decline in value of assets used for conducting R&D activities.
Item 8 R&D assets – Balancing adjustment losses
Enter at item 8 R&D assets – Balancing adjustment losses the amount of balancing adjustment losses you are eligible to notionally deduct under sections 355-315 or 355-525 of the ITAA 1997, for assets used only for R&D activities.
Separate the amount shown at item 8 between Australian owned R&D activities (O) and foreign owned R&D activities (P).
You cannot claim these amounts on R&D activities unless your total notional deduction amount is at least $20,000.
Balancing adjustment losses for assets used for both R&D and non-R&D activities are deductible under sections 40-285, 40-292 or 40-293 of the ITAA 1997 and do not qualify as notional deductions for the purposes of claiming an R&D tax offset.
Show at X Other deductible expenses item 7 on page 6 of the Company tax return 2018 your deduction for balancing adjustment losses if the assets have been used for both R&D and non-R&D activities.
If you are otherwise eligible for an R&D tax offset under section 355-100 of the ITAA 1997 in the current year, the amount shown at X Other deductible expenses is calculated and claimed at an uplifted percentage under sections 40-292 or 40-293 of the ITAA 1997.
If you are not otherwise eligible for an R&D tax offset under section 355-100 of the ITAA 1997, the balancing adjustment losses for assets used on both R&D and non-R&D activities, as calculated under section 40-285 of the ITAA 1997, are included at X Other deductible expenses item 7 of the Company tax return 2018. This amount is not eligible to be uplifted and is therefore claimed at 100%.
Assessable balancing adjustment amounts (as a result of balancing adjustment profits) for assets used in R&D activities are included at B Other assessable income item 7 on page 5 of the Company tax return 2018.
If the asset has only been used for R&D activities, the assessable amount to be included at this label is uplifted by one third (as per subsection 355-315(3) of the ITAA 1997).
If the asset has been used partly for R&D activities, under subsection 40-292(5) or 40-293(3) of the ITAA 1997, the amount included and uplifted by one third is the proportion of the assessable balancing adjustment amount that relates to notional deductions claimed under the R&D tax incentive.
See also:
Item 9 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) contributions
Enter at item 9 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) contributions the amount of expenditure you have incurred as a monetary contribution under the CRC program that is spent on registered R&D activities. Separate the incurred expenditure at item 9 between Australian owned R&D activities (Q) and foreign owned R&D activities (R).
Expenditure you incur as a monetary contribution under the CRC program is not subject to the $20,000 notional deduction threshold. You will therefore be able to claim an R&D tax offset for this expenditure, regardless of the amount.
See also:
Item 10 Total of allocated notional deductions
Enter at X item 10 Total of allocated notional deductions the sum of the amounts shown at items 1 to 9 in the Australian owned R&D column.
Enter at Y item 10 Total of allocated notional deductions the sum of the amounts shown at items 1 to 9 in the Foreign owned R&D column.
If you complete the form on your computer, item 10 will be calculated for you.
Item 11 Total notional R&D deduction (X plus Y)
Enter at Z item 11 Total notional R&D deductions (X plus Y) the sum of the amounts shown at X and Y in item 10 Total of allocated notional deductions.
If the amount shown at Z is less than $20,000, you will only be able to claim an R&D tax offset for amounts shown at:
- item 1 R&D expenditure – Research service provider (RSP)
- item 9 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) contributions.
If you complete the form on your computer, Z will be calculated for you