Dundee United 'in constructive dialogue' with HMRC over £600,000 R&D tax relief dispute

Dundee United Football Club say they are confident that an ongoing dispute with HMRC over the use of a tax relief scheme will have no significant impact on future operations.

The Premiership club confirmed in their annual report last year that HMRC has requested a repayment of tax relating to “an R&D claim in 2021” and that an appeal was ongoing. The accounts noted a potential repayment amount of up to £600,000.

A recent report in the Times said that United has claimed tax relief on player wages on the ground that they were working on cutting edge research and development.

Subsequently, tax policy think tank Tax Policy Associates published a document detailing a consultant and United’s work on the scheme, claiming that the vast majority of a £1.4m claim was related to players salaries, the wages of a club chef, a head of tactical perfromance and energy costs.

HMRC believe this to have been a misuse of the research and development scheme and want United to pay funds back.

The HMRC website states that a project must “seek an advance in a field of science or technology” to qualify for tax relief.

The club say they are still in discussion but are “confident of a satisfactory outcome”.

A club statement published on Tuesday read: “Dundee United Football Club can confirm that we remain in constructive dialogue with HMRC regarding a Research and Development (R&D) tax claim submitted in 2021.

“As this is an ongoing process, we are unable to comment further on the details of the matter at this time. However, the club is fully engaged in the discussions and remains confident in a satisfactory outcome of the process for both parties.

“We would like to reassure our supporters that this historical matter has no impact on the club’s current or future operations.

“Furthermore, the R&D initiative known as ‘The Dundee United Lab’ ceased operations in March 2023 and no longer exists in any form, with all personnel previously involved in the project no longer employed or affiliated with the club in any capacity.

“We will provide further updates if and when appropriate.”