ACERTA certifies the R+D+i activity of personnel dedicated exclusively to R+D+i activities:
It consists of a 40% bonus of the company contributions to the Social Security contributions for common contingencies of the Research Personnel.
It was initially regulated by RD 475/2014 but this RD has been amended by RD-Law 01/2023.
According to RD 475/2014, the following conditions must be met:
For workers registered as of September 2023, RD-Law 01/2023 applies, which requires the following:
A maximum of 15% is accepted for activities collateral to R&D&I (training, teaching, dissemination or similar).
The certification is necessary for companies that apply the bonus to 10 or more researchers over 3 months or more in a fiscal year, as it is a mandatory requirement to obtain the corresponding Binding Motivated Report (IMV) from the Administration.
Compatible with the deduction for R&D&I activities for those companies that have the Innovative SME seal.
The projects will be evaluated by qualifying the activities individually, justifying such qualifications attending to the definitions of the concepts of R&D&I included in Article 35 of the revised text of the Corporate Income Tax Law (Law 27/2014, of November 27), but always particularizing them to the novelty of the project (not limited to the mere transcription of the definitions of the Law).
Research is the original planned inquiry aimed at discovering new knowledge and superior understanding in science and technology, and development is the application of the results of research or any other type of scientific knowledge.
For projects related to computer science, it also includes the "creation, combination, configuration of advanced software, by means of new theorems and algorithms or operating systems, languages, interfaces and applications aimed at the development of new or substantially improved products or services."
The projects will be evaluated by qualifying the activities individually, justifying such qualifications in accordance with the definitions of the concepts of R&D&I included in Article 35 of the revised text of the Corporate Income Tax Law (Royal Legislative Decree 4/2004, of March 5 and its subsequent amendments and Law 27/2014, of November 27), but always particularizing them to the novelty of the project (not limited to the mere transcription of the definitions of the Law).
Activity whose result is a technological advance in obtaining:
- New products or production processes or substantial improvements to existing ones. New products or processes whose characteristics or applications, from a technological point of view, differ substantially from those existing previously, will be considered new.
- Materialization of the new products or processes in a plan, scheme or design,
- Creation of a first non-marketable prototype
- Initial demonstration projects or projects including those related to animation and video games and textile, footwear, tanning, leather goods, toys, furniture and wood samples, provided that they cannot be converted or used for industrial applications or commercial exploitation.
- Technological diagnosis activities aimed at the identification, definition and orientation of advanced technological solutions carried out by entities*, regardless of the results.
On the ACERTA website there is a link to request the ACERTA Certification Guide. In this guide you will find the content that must be included in the report according to RD 1432/2003.
The average certification time for an R&D&I project in the market is usually about 8 weeks. At ACERTA we are aware of the importance of optimizing certification deadlines and we are constantly working to achieve this. Currently our average term is 57 days, although depending on the scope of the project the term may be less (for example, for a content certification the average term is 37 days).
By obtaining a certificate in R&D&I, the company will be able to apply tax deductions with certainty before the tax authorities and request the collection of the tax credit if the corporate income tax is less than the deduction. According to RD 1432/2003, a company can deduct significant amounts of corporate income tax from the investments or expenses made in R+D+i. The deduction percentages vary between 12% and 42%, according to the qualification applied to the project, depending on the type of activity carried out (Research and Development or Technological Innovation).
The aim is to obtain legal certainty when applying the important tax deductions existing in the Spanish legal system.
They have economic effects comparable to those of a subsidy, but are not taxed.
The application is free (all types of areas of knowledge and volumes of expenditure), and general (for all companies, regardless of their CNAE or size).
Deductions are not subject to competitive concurrence with a predefined budget; they are generated by each company, when they carry out R&D and/or IT activities, in accordance with the definitions established in the Corporate Income Tax Law.
The generation of the tax deduction is proportional to the R&D&I activities carried out, and is applied in the annual corporate income tax settlement, up to a certain limit of quota. However, the deduction generated but not applied can be applied in subsequent years, and there is even a case of monetary advance of the deduction pending application.
A sample book is the result of the activities carried out for the development of a set of prototypes potentially convertible into a new product. Each sample book project encompasses collections grouped on a temporary basis, generally on an annual basis.
This deduction applies to traditional sectors such as textiles, footwear, tanning, leather goods, toys, furniture and wood, allowing companies to deduct 12% of the expenses associated with these activities.
The additional deduction consists of a 17% deduction on the expense of qualified research personnel who are exclusively dedicated to R&D activities. This deduction is in addition to the general 25% applicable to R&D activities, which can result in total tax savings of up to 42% in certain cases.
This deduction is designed to encourage the exclusive dedication of research personnel to R&D projects and is certified as part of the R&D&I project evaluation process.
It consists of the application of a rebate of between 40% and 50% in the employer's contributions to the Social Security contributions for common contingencies with respect to personnel exclusively dedicated to R&D&I activities.
Exclusive dedication is understood to mean personnel who dedicate all of their working time to R&D&I activities, with up to 15% of the time dedicated to training, teaching, dissemination or similar tasks.
For those persons hired before 01/09/2023 those established in RD 475/2014:
For those hired after this date, those established in RD-Law 01/2023:
The Additional Deduction for Personnel Exclusively Assigned to R&D allows companies to apply an additional tax deduction of 17% on the expenses of qualified research personnel dedicated exclusively to Research and Development (R&D) activities. This deduction is in addition to the general 25% applicable to R&D activities, and can reach a total tax saving of up to 42% in certain cases. In order to benefit from this deduction, the personnel must have a university degree and the certification must be carried out as part of the R&D&I project evaluation process.
On the other hand, the Bonus for Exclusive Research Personnel consists of a 40% bonus on the employer's social security contributions for common contingencies for personnel exclusively dedicated to R&D&I activities. This bonus is applicable to personnel with certain contribution groups and specific types of contract.
Regarding the compatibility of both incentives, for innovative SMEs that have the official seal of "Innovative SME" and are registered with the Ministry of Science and Innovation, there is full compatibility, being able to apply both incentives on the same research personnel. For the rest of the companies, compatibility is provided that both incentives are not applied to the same researcher, i.e., they can benefit from both incentives, but not simultaneously for the same employee.
ACERTA performs technical-economic assessments to determine the nature of R&D&I projects and the coherence of their expenses. We offer technical, technical-economic and ROAC reports, adapted to the applicable legislation and the specific needs of each company.
These reports can be used to justify R&D deductions in the event of inspections or disputes with the AEAT, as well as in the framework of provincial regulations, such as those of Navarra, Guipúzcoa, Álava and Bizkaia.
ACERTA can certify R&D&I projects under the Next Generation EU funds, including sectors such as electric and connected vehicles, agri-food and circular economy.
In those cases in which a qualification report of the project activities issued by a certification entity accredited by the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC) is required, ACERTA can help you, as well as in the justification phase of the projects.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
