The R&D Tax Incentive pays Australian companies back for the money they spend on R&D.
It is a government program, not a grant you compete for. Spend eligible money on eligible work, register it, and a share of that spend comes back as a cash refund or a tax offset. This page explains how much, who runs it, and when the money actually lands.
Two agencies, one program, a fixed rate.
The RDTI is jointly administered. AusIndustry assesses whether the work counts as R&D. The ATO handles the money through the company tax return. Both steps happen after the work is done, which is why the program rewards good record keeping more than it rewards paperwork skill.
An Australian incorporated company that spent at least $20,000 on eligible R&D in the income year. Sole traders, trusts and partnerships sit outside the program.
Experimental work where the outcome cannot be known in advance, run to generate new knowledge. Engineering salaries, contractor costs, prototypes, cloud and testing costs commonly sit inside a claim.
43.5% of eligible spend as a refundable offset under $20M aggregated turnover. Above that, 38.5% as a non-refundable offset against tax payable.
Registration with AusIndustry closes 10 months after the end of the income year. For a June year end that date is 30 April.
Move the slider to see the refund on a year of R&D spend.
Salaries of the people doing the experimental work usually make up most of a claim. The rate applied here is 43.5%, the refundable offset for companies under $20M aggregated turnover.
- Eligible spend
- $400,000
- Offset rate
- 43.5%
R&D spend happens every month. The refund arrives once.
Payroll for the engineering team goes out twelve times a year. The refund on that payroll lands after the income year ends, once the return is lodged and the ATO processes it. Companies that spend early in the year wait the longest to see the money back.
The refund can be accessed before the ATO pays it.
A registered RDTI claim is a receivable from the government, and a receivable can be advanced. That means the cash sits in the business during the year the R&D actually happens, rather than after it. The alternative is usually selling equity or borrowing against the founders personally, which costs far more than waiting does.
Advanced does exactly that, and nothing else. If the timing gap is the part of this page that sounded familiar, read how an R&D advance works.
Four statements. Tick the ones that describe your company.
Tick what applies and see where you land.
Nothing is submitted here. The check runs in the page.
General information only, current for the 2025 to 2026 income year. Eligibility is assessed by AusIndustry and the ATO. Talk to your tax advisor before lodging a claim.