Questions to ask
Twenty questions to ask an R&D tax adviser before you sign, in the order a proposal raises them. Print the checklist and take it into the meeting.
These are the questions that decide what you will pay, who carries the risk if the claim is reduced, and how easily you can leave. Each one has its own page with why it matters, what a good answer sounds like, and what should make you ask more. Ten of them are also the adviser health check on the Tools page.
Ask them in any order, but ask them all before you sign. A proposal that answers them in writing is easier to compare with any other. The scripts give you the words, and the contracts section explains the clause each question points to.
How to use the checklist
Print the list and take it into the meeting, or send the questions by email before you meet. Write the answers on the list. If an answer is "it depends", ask what it depends on. If you cannot answer a question from the engagement letter alone, ask for a sentence to be added.
- How are your fees calculated?The first question. If you cannot work out the fee from the engagement letter alone, you cannot compare the proposal with any other.
- What exactly is the fee a percentage of?A percentage means nothing until you know the base. The credit, the refund, the qualifying spend and the tax saved are different amounts, and the fee can differ by thousands depending on which one.
- Is the fee based on the benefit claimed or received?Claimed or received is the difference between a fee that stays fixed when the tax authority reduces the claim and a fee that falls with it.
- What happens to the fee if the claim is reduced?If the tax authority reduces the claim, you repay the difference. Whether the fee comes down, and whether any part is refunded, is the sentence in the letter that matters most.
- Is review support included?If the tax authority asks questions, you will want the person who prepared the claim to answer them. Whether that help is in the price, and what it covers, needs to be in writing.
- Who will do the technical work?The claim rests on a technical case: which projects qualify and why. Who writes that case, and whether they talk to the people who did the work, decides how well it holds.
- What qualifications does the team have?Ask who is on the team, what they are qualified in, and whether a professional body stands behind them.
- Who is named on the claim?Some claim forms ask who prepared the claim and how they were paid. An adviser willing to be named is standing behind the work. One who is not should be asked why.
- How do you decide what qualifies?An adviser who can tell you what they left out, and why, is applying the test. One who finds that everything qualifies may be, or may not be looking hard.
- What records will you need from us?A claim is built from records: time, costs, project notes. What the adviser needs, who collects it, and who keeps it afterwards decides how much work the claim is and how well it survives a review.
- Can we see the full claim before filing?The claim goes in with your name on it. Seeing the whole thing before it is filed, numbers and technical case, is one of the best protections you have, whatever the fee model.
- Do you claim every year by default?Some engagements run for one claim. Some renew every year unless you stop them. Knowing which one you are signing, and how to end it, matters before the first year is out.
- Do you file amended or refund claims?A claim for past years can be legitimate. It can also be the opening line of a cold call. Ask how the adviser decides, what the time limits are, and what the fee covers.
- What happens if we end the engagement?Ending an engagement should be a notice period and a handover. Read what happens to the fee, the records and any claim in progress before you need to know.
- Are there minimum or exit fees?A minimum fee turns a success fee into a fixed cost on a small claim. An exit fee makes leaving expensive. Both can be fair, and both need to be known before you sign.
- When and how is the fee paid?On signing, on filing, or when the money arrives: the timing of the fee decides whether you are paying before you know the claim has succeeded.
- Do you use subcontractors?The firm you sign with may not be the people who do the work. Subcontracting can be sensible; it also raises questions about confidentiality, quality and who answers for the claim.
- Do you pay or receive referral fees?If someone was paid to introduce you, that payment came from somewhere. Knowing who is paid for the introduction tells you whose interest the introduction served.
- Can we speak to references?A reference is a business like yours that has been through a claim and a review with this adviser. Ask for one, and ask the reference the questions on this site.
- How do you handle a tax authority review?A review is where a claim is tested and where the engagement is tested with it. Ask what the adviser does, who does it, how long it takes and what it costs, before there is a letter on your desk.
KnowYourFees.org is published by Swanson Reed, an R&D tax advisory firm that competes with other advisers. This site does not recommend any adviser, including Swanson Reed.
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