Using listed research providers

What is a listed research provider (LRP)?

LRPs are research providers that have completed the listing process with us. They provide R&D services under contract to other businesses. An LRP conducts R&D on behalf of non-associated businesses.

If a business operating for a whole year has incurred less than $20,000 of eligible R&D expenditure or depreciation in an income year, the R&D activity is only eligible if an LRP has been contracted for the R&D.

When might you choose to use LRPs?

If eligible expenditure is less than $20,000 in the income year, you are ineligible for the tax credit unless you have:

• used a listed research provider (LRP) not associated with you to perform your eligible R&D, or
• not been an eligible person for the full year.

Find out if your business is eligible.

Eligible expenditure

To be considered eligible expenditure, payments to an LRP must be for eligible R&D activity.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your claimed expenditure includes only expenditure on eligible activities, and excludes any ineligible expenditure. You may wish to consider arrangements within your contracts to identify total eligible expenditure for each eligible project.

Find out more about contract payments for R&D.

List of research providers

Note that, while an LRP may be listed by us, this does not constitute an endorsement of the provider. It means the research provider has satisfied us that it has the capability to undertake R&D for others, and has facilities in New Zealand.

View the list of research providers.

What happens if my LRP is removed from the list?

LRPs may ask to be removed from the list, or cease to meet the requirements for continued listing. In both cases we will remove it from the list of research providers.

If you already have a contract with an LRP when it is removed from the list, payments under that contract will still be eligible for the exception to the minimum threshold, despite subsequent removal.

The exception to the minimum threshold will not apply to payments for work under a contract entered into after the research provider was removed from the list. This is the case even if the new contract is for the continuation of activities first contracted for when the research provider was listed.

Find out more

• Types of eligible expenditure or depreciation loss
• Deductibility of expenditure
• Industry research co-operatives (IRCs) and their expenditure
• What expenditure is excluded from a claim?

Date published: 01 Feb 2010

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