The R&D Tax Incentive is valuable but complex. Here are the five most common mistakes we see, and how to avoid them.
1. Not claiming at all. Many businesses conduct eligible R&D without realising it. If your team is solving technical problems where the outcome is uncertain, you may qualify. A free 30-minute consultation with an RDTI specialist can quickly assess your eligibility.
2. Under-claiming expenditure. Businesses often claim only direct staff costs and miss contractor fees, materials, cloud infrastructure, and equipment depreciation. ExaRDTI’s AI-aided expense analysis captures all eligible expenditure categories.
3. Weak documentation. Claims without strong technical narratives and supporting evidence are vulnerable to audit. Documentation should describe the hypothesis, experimental methodology, and outcomes for each R&D activity. With ExaRDTI, you work collaboratively with RDTI specialists and the AI platform to build this documentation from your existing project data.
4. Retrospective record-keeping. AusIndustry values contemporaneous records — documentation created at the time the work was done. Relying on end-of-year write-ups weakens your claim. ExaRDTI imports data continuously from your connected systems, building evidence throughout the year.
5. Failing the four-part test. Every claimed activity must satisfy the legislated four-part test. Activities that are routine, where outcomes are known in advance, or that lack systematic progression do not qualify. ExaRDTI’s compliance engine validates each activity before submission.