How SMEs can obtain more from the patent box

The UK patent box regime allows companies that own patents to effectively benefit from a 10% rate of corporation tax. The patent box was first introduced in 2013 and phased in over a number of years. By the time it was fully in force in April 2017 it offered a 9% tax saving – ie 10% patent box tax rate versus the 19% main rate of corporation tax.

With the main rate of corporation tax rising to 25% last April the benefits of the patent box have increased to a sizeable 15% differential between the patent box rate and the main rate of corporation tax. For companies that qualify for the patent box this offers potentially significant tax savings.

However a relatively small number of UK companies access this generous tax relief. In this article we explore how UK companies especially small and medium-sized enterprises...