When filling in your application in myIR, you can save your progress at any time by clicking 'Save draft'. To support your claim, you'll be able to upload documents as evidence for your activities.
Drafts will only be saved for 20 days.
Once you've organised all the information below, you'll be ready to apply for general approval on your R&D activities.
Apply for general approval on your R&D activities
Support
Callaghan Innovation can support you with your application if you’re new to the R&D tax incentive. Request support on the R&D tax incentive website.
Free tailored R&D tax incentive support - rdti.govt.nz
Project detail
Provide us with a basic, high-level overview of your R&D project.
If you have other projects that undertake different types of R&D, you will need to complete a general approval application for each project.
Project identifier
The 'Project identifier' is intended to help you, and us, logically group and assess your core and supporting R&D activities.
We do not assess the eligibility of your R&D project but the eligibility of each underlying R&D activity you have applied for.
Objective
Provide a brief description of the objective of the project. At a very broad and high level, explain the goals you are trying to achieve.
Eligible expenditure on eligible activities
Your eligible expenditure must be over $50,000 in the income year to qualify for the R&D tax credit. However, if you use an approved research provider, you can still apply for the R&D tax credit with an eligible expenditure $50,000 or less.
If you're claiming your share of expenditure from a joint venture, partnership or look-through company, you may still be able to apply for the R&D tax credit. Your share can be $50,000 or less, but the total for your combined application must be more than $50,000.
Government funding
If you have received Government funding for your R&D, you'll need to give us details of the source of that funding and the activities it was used for.
Start and end dates for the project
Select start and end dates from the drop-down menus: 'Project starts this tax year' and 'Project ends this tax year'.
Select an ANZSRC code
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) is the collective name for a set of three related classifications. They were developed for use in the measurement and analysis of research and experimental development (R&D) undertaken in Australia and New Zealand.
Contact details
Fill in all fields in the 'Contact details' screen.
Consider including a technical employee involved or responsible for the activity, as your activities will be assessed from a technical standpoint.
Core activities
To be more confident your core activities are eligible for the R&D tax incentive, use the following link. This will give you more information on the definition of 'core activity' and the test for scientific and technological uncertainties.
You'll need to give us details of each core R&D activity that you undertook, or will undertake, as part of your project.
Core activity title
Assign a title to your activity. Consider giving a meaningful name relevant to the activity.
Start and end dates for the core activity
Select start and end dates from the drop-down menus: 'Activity starts this tax year' and 'Activity ends this tax year'.
- A core R&D activity generally begins once you have a testable idea, or proposition (hypothesis) which could resolve your scientific or technological uncertainty.
- A core R&D activity is expected to end when you cease to measure and evaluate the extent to which your activities have resolved the scientific or technological uncertainty.
Core activity description
Provide a brief description of the activity and what the activity is set to achieve: what is the objective?
Scientific and technological uncertainty
Describe the scientific and technological uncertainty that this core activity has the material purpose to resolve. Give technical information about the problem you are trying to resolve with that specific activity. Detail the unknown you are facing.
You can provide technical details explaining how you've established that the missing knowledge is not already publicly available. These may be:
- your freedom to operate searches
- publication and internet research.
Systematic approach
Outline the approach you will use in this core activity to resolve the uncertainty described above. The systematic approach of the methodology you will be using needs to be clear to the experts assessing your application. Provide step-by-step details on how you've already conducted or plan to carry out your activity in a systematic way.
New knowledge or improved processes, services or goods
Describe how this core activity intends to create either new knowledge or improved processes, services or goods, which you are able to use if the activity is successful. Briefly tell us how the intended result differs from existing knowledge, processes, goods or services.
More than 1 core activity
If you are applying for more than 1 core activity, select 'Add core activity' at the bottom of the page and a new tab will appear. Complete the necessary details, as outlined above, for each core activity.
Supporting activities
To be more confident your supporting activities are eligible for the R&D tax incentive, use the following link. This will give you more information on the definition of 'supporting activity'.
You'll need to give us details of what supporting R&D activities you undertook and why each activity was required for the core activity.
Supporting activity title
Make sure your title reflects the supporting activity being undertaken.
Start and end dates for the supporting activity
Set start and end dates from the drop-down menus: 'Activity starts this tax year' and 'Activity ends this tax year'.
Supporting activity description
Provide a brief description of the supporting activity.
Meeting the definition of supporting activity
Describe how the activity meets the definition of a supporting activity. Remember that it must be directly linked and relevant to the core activity.
A summary of your core activities will be shown when you click on 'Select one or more associated core activities'. Select the core activity, or activities, the supporting activity relates to.
More than 1 supporting activity
If there is more than 1 supporting activity, select 'Add supporting activity' at the bottom of the page and a new tab will appear. Complete the necessary details, as outlined above, for each supporting activity.
Joint venture, partnerships and look-through companies
If you are completing the general approval process as part of a joint venture, partnership or look-through company, you need to give us information relating to each party.
For a look-through company, select the 'Partnership' option.
Each individual party to the joint venture, partnership or look-through company who wishes to obtain the tax credit must separately obtain approval. You should agree on a standard description for your R&D project and activities.
Associated persons
Use this screen to advise us if any person(s) associated with you are also claiming or intending to claim an R&D tax credit for the income year. We may contact you for more information about associated persons.
More resources
For more detailed guidance on the R&D tax incentive (RDTI), see the Research and Development Tax Incentive: Guidance - IR1240.
You can also use our 'How-To' guides on our website dedicated to RDTI.