Dossio · R&D Tax Compliance
The R&D Tax Incentive, explained
Sourced, plain-English analysis of Australia’s R&D Tax Incentive — what the rules are, how they’re changing, and how to keep documentation that holds up under examination. Built for the teams doing the R&D, with R&D tax experts providing oversight and governance.
- 27 September 2026 · Changing compliance environment
How much of the R&D Tax Incentive goes to advisers?
Three years of ATO data: 18,731 companies claimed R&D on $44.7 billion of spend. We estimate at least $116 million a year is paid to R&D advisers. Here's the method.
Read → - 19 June 2026 · Contemporaneous documentation & record-keeping
What “contemporaneous documentation” means for the R&D Tax Incentive
Contemporaneous documentation is R&D evidence created while the work happens, not reconstructed at year-end. Here's what the ATO and AusIndustry expect those records to show — and why they carry more weight under review.
Read → - 18 June 2026 · Eligibility, explained factually
Are software development activities eligible for the R&D Tax Incentive?
Some software development is eligible for the R&D Tax Incentive and much of it is not. The test is applied to activities, not whole projects — here's what Division 355 and AusIndustry's software guidance actually require.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
Inside the Ambitious Australia review: why the R&D Tax Incentive is being reformed
The Ambitious Australia review (Denholm) diagnosed weak, concentrated business R&D and recommended redesigning the R&D Tax Incentive. Here's what the report found and proposed.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
What the R&D review recommended vs what the 2026–27 Budget adopted
The Ambitious Australia review and the 2026–27 Budget both redesign the R&D Tax Incentive — but the dials differ. A side-by-side of the recommendations and the adopted measures.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Contemporaneous documentation & record-keeping
When 'supporting' R&D loses eligibility: documenting core activities from 2028
The 2026–27 Budget proposes removing eligibility for expenditure that only supports R&D, from 1 July 2028. That sharpens the core-vs-supporting line — and the documentation behind it.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Eligibility, explained factually
The new $50,000 minimum R&D spend — and the recognised research organisation rule
From 1 July 2028 the R&D Tax Incentive's minimum spend rises from $20,000 to $50,000. Below that, R&D must be done with a recognised research organisation. What smaller claimants should know.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
Beyond the R&D Tax Incentive: the 2026–27 Budget's tax changes for innovative companies
The 2026–27 Budget pairs the R&D Tax Incentive redesign with over $3.5 billion of business tax measures — instant asset write-off, loss carry back, start-up loss refundability and venture capital. A guide for R&D-claiming companies.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
$10.2 billion in red tape cuts: the compliance and recordkeeping reforms in the 2026–27 Budget
The 2026–27 Budget targets $10.2 billion a year in regulatory burden — including 'tell-us-once' reporting, dynamic PAYG instalments and the ATO dropping interest on honest instalment errors. What it signals for business compliance.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
$39 billion for R&D and a new National Resilience and Science Council
The 2026–27 Budget commits more than $39 billion to R&D and establishes a National Resilience and Science Council in response to the Ambitious Australia review. What the R&D investment picture looks like.
Read → - 17 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
Australia's productivity problem and the R&D dividend
Australian productivity growth in the decade to 2020 was the slowest in 60 years. The 2026–27 Budget's productivity package leans on R&D and AI — here's the data and where R&D fits.
Read → - 16 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
What the 2026–27 Federal Budget changed for the R&D Tax Incentive (and why it starts 1 July 2028)
The 2026–27 Federal Budget redesigns the R&D Tax Incentive: a higher offset for core experimental R&D, supporting expenditure removed, intensity threshold cut to 1.5%. Unlegislated, effective 1 July 2028.
Read → - 16 June 2026 · Changing compliance environment
Is GIC tax-deductible? Not since 1 July 2025 — and what that changes for R&D claims
GIC and SIC incurred on or after 1 July 2025 are no longer tax-deductible. What changed, how the two charges differ, what happens if the ATO remits them, and what it means for the after-tax cost of an amended R&D Tax Incentive claim.
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