FAQs

In several ways: a percentage of the benefit (a contingent or success fee), a fixed fee, a percentage with a cap, an hourly rate, or a mix of these. Each model moves the cost and the risk differently, and each suits some businesses and not others. The fee types section explains every model on the same illustrative claim.

Neither is better in general. On any pair of figures there is a claim size at which the two cost the same. Below it the percentage fee is lower, and above it the fixed fee is lower. A percentage fee costs nothing if the claim fails, and a fixed fee does not rise with the claim. The contingent versus fixed fees page works the comparison through. The fee comparison calculator does it on your own figures.

That depends on how the engagement letter defines the benefit: the amount claimed, the amount you actually receive, or something wider. A percentage means nothing until you know the base. See what exactly is the fee a percentage of? and the what counts as the benefit clause.

No. It means you pay no fee if the claim does not succeed. It does not cover what happens if a claim that was paid is later reduced on review, when the business repays the difference. The no win, no fee means no risk myth page explains what the phrase does and does not cover.

Yes. The rate, the cap, what the fee is based on, what is included and the contract terms can all be discussed. You will not know until you ask, and not every term is negotiable. The how to negotiate fees guide sets out what to ask for and in what order, and the script for asking for a fee cap has wording you can send.

More than the headline fee: extras charged separately, your own people's time, and the cost of a bad year if the claim is reduced. The true cost of a claim guide adds them up on the shared illustrative example.

The twenty questions. They cover how the fee is worked out, what happens if the claim is reduced and whether review support is included. They also cover who does the technical work, whether you see the claim before filing, and how you leave. The questions checklist is the same list as a printable file.

Put them on the same basis. Ask each adviser for a worked example on your expected claim and on half of it. Add the extras, cost the bad year, and then compare the contract terms side by side. The how to compare proposals guide sets out the method, and the proposal scorecard holds the figures.

It depends on the country. Some countries register or license the people who prepare returns, and some do not; professional bodies keep their own member lists. The "checking an adviser's credentials" page for your country says what can be checked and what a listing does and does not tell you.

No. A red flag is a reason to ask more questions. Every red flag page says when the practice is a problem and when it is not, and each has a matching green flag.

No. This site recommends no adviser, including its publisher, Swanson Reed, and it keeps no list, rating or referral service. It gives you questions you can put to any adviser and check for yourself. The how to choose an R&D tax adviser guide sets out the process.

Some businesses do, some use an adviser for part of the work, and some hand over the whole claim. The in-house or adviser guide sets out what each route asks of you.

The contracts section covers ten clauses, from the fee basis and what counts as the benefit to exit fees, records and renewal terms. It shows a sample of each, and the engagement letter checklist is a printable list. Ask a lawyer in your country to review your own letter before you sign it.

Whatever the engagement letter says. Some letters recalculate the fee on the amount finally agreed and refund the excess; some are silent, and then nothing in the letter brings the fee back down. Ask a lawyer what applies in your country. See what happens to the fee if the claim is reduced? and the fee refund clause.

Only if the letter says so. "Available" is not the same as "included", and support priced by the hour needs an estimate and a ceiling. See is review support included? and the review and audit support clause.

That depends on the notice period, any exit fee and the records clause in your letter. See what happens if we end the engagement?, the termination and exit fees clause and the ownership of records and work clause. The script for requesting your records has wording to send.

The business. The claim is made in the business's own tax return, whoever prepares it. The adviser is responsible if it goes wrong myth page explains what an adviser's promise of support does and does not cover. The "your responsibility" page for your country sets out the local position.

Take advice before you reply. Read your engagement letter to see what help it provides, and tell your adviser the same day. The claim reduced on review page covers the fee side, and the "if your claim is reviewed" page for your country describes the process in general terms.

Start with the engagement letter, put your question to the firm in writing, and take advice before you withhold any payment. The fee disputes page sets out the steps.

To the firm first, in writing, then to the professional body or regulator the person belongs to, where there is one. A complaint about an adviser does not correct your own return. The complaints about an adviser page gives the order, and the page for your country names the bodies.

Each country has a route for correcting a filed claim, with its own time limits. Take advice before you use it, and check what your engagement letter says about the fee on the corrected amount. See correcting a claim.