Revenue Commissioners
R&D Tax Credit
aka Research and Development Tax Credit, Section 766
30% refundable tax credit on qualifying research and development expenditure, claimed via the company's annual corporation tax return.
30% refundable credit on qualifying R&D spend
Last reviewed May 2026
What this scheme funds
The R&D Tax Credit gives Irish-trading companies a 30% credit on qualifying research and development expenditure (the rate was raised from 25% in Finance Act 2023 and confirmed at 30% for accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2024). Qualifying activities must seek a scientific or technological advancement and resolve scientific or technological uncertainty - software development qualifies where it goes beyond routine engineering. Eligible costs include staff salaries, materials, plant, and a proportion of overheads attributable to the R&D activity. The credit is refundable in three instalments over 33 months if the company has insufficient corporation tax to absorb it, which is the typical position for early-stage start-ups. There is a first-year payable threshold (e.g. EUR50,000 currently paid in full in year one before the instalment rule applies).
Application window
Claim within 12 months of accounting period end via the corporation tax return
Who can apply
- •Trading company resident in Ireland or EEA with an Irish PE
- •Carries out qualifying R&D activity in Ireland or EEA
- •Documents the project against Revenue's science test and accounting test
- •Claim made within 12 months of the end of the accounting period
How it typically funds software
- •Salaries of engineers building genuinely novel software functionality
- •Cloud compute and infrastructure used for R&D experimentation
- •Outsourced R&D within capped sub-contracting limits
Worth knowing
Revenue audit activity on R&D Tax Credit claims is increasing - retain real-time technical and financial documentation, not retrospective narratives.
Software categories this can fund
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