Reforms to the R&D Tax Incentive

The enhanced reforms to the R&D Tax Incentive apply to income years beginning on or after 1 July 2021. Some administrative elements of the reforms were applied from 1 January 2021.

To learn more about the reforms, read the Changes to the R&D Tax Incentive: Overview fact sheet below.

The government announced enhanced reforms to the R&D Tax Incentive as part of the 2020-21 Budget. Find out more on budget.gov.au and aph.gov.au.

• Budget Paper No.2: Budget Measures, page 19 under the title: JobMaker Plan – Research and Development Tax Incentive – supporting Australia’s economic recovery.

• Legislation to give effect to these new reforms - the Treasury Laws Amendment (A Tax Plan for the COVID 19 Economic Recovery) Act 2020 passed the Parliament on 9 October 2020 and received Royal Assent on 14 October 2020.

The 2016 review of the R&D Tax Incentive (the Review) concluded in April 2016 and the Review Panel's report was released in September 2016. The review looked at ways to improve the tax incentive's effectiveness and integrity, including how the focus could be sharpened to encourage additional R&D investment.

You can read more about the Review and updates on the government's response on industry.gov.au