Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
Australia's R&D Tax Incentive: who can claim, what counts as core and supporting R&D and what is excluded, annual registration with AusIndustry within 10 months of year end, overseas and core technology findings, which expenditure and assets count, how the refundable and non-refundable offsets are worked out, the integrity and clawback rules for related parties, grants, feedstock and asset disposals, and the records a claimant must keep; with the September 2026 reform exposure draft recorded as pending.
Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) is a compliance framework from Australia (Commonwealth) with 6 domains and 29 controls. The largest domains are Integrity rules, clawback and catch-up (Subdivisions 355-F to 355-H and 355-W) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (8 controls), Notional deductions and expenditure conditions (Subdivisions 355-D, 355-E and 355-I to 355-K) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (8 controls), Registration and findings (Industry Research and Development Act 1986 Part III) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (6 controls). Every control below carries what it requires and what an assessor expects to see.
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Framework Domains (6)
Entitlement to and calculation of the tax offset (Subdivision 355-C) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-100 | ss 355-100 to 355-115 Work out the offset at the correct rate, threshold and cap |
Integrity rules, clawback and catch-up (Subdivisions 355-F to 355-H and 355-W) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-400 | s 355-400 Limit expenditure with associates or non-arm's length parties to market value |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-405 | s 355-405 Exclude expenditure that is not at risk |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-410 | ss 355-410 and 355-535 Include amounts received for R&D results in assessable income |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-415 | s 355-415 Reduce deductions by intra-group mark-ups |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-440 | ss 355-435, 355-440 and 355-450 Claw back the offset benefit for government recoupments of R&D expenditure |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-445 | s 355-445 Make feedstock adjustments when R&D outputs are sold or used |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-446-475 | ss 355-446 to 355-475 Make balancing adjustment clawbacks and catch-up deductions for R&D assets |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-715 | s 355-715 Do not deduct or offset the same expenditure twice |
Notional deductions and expenditure conditions (Subdivisions 355-D, 355-E and 355-I to 355-K) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-205 | s 355-205 Claim only expenditure incurred in the year on registered activities, and associate expenditure only when paid |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-210 | s 355-210 Conduct claimed activities for the R&D entity in Australia, and not to a significant extent for others |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-215-220 | ss 355-215 and 355-220 Meet the conditions for R&D conducted for foreign group members |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-225(1) | s 355-225(1) Exclude building costs, depreciating asset costs and interest from R&D expenditure |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-305 | ss 355-305 to 355-315 Claim decline in value only for the R&D use of tangible depreciating assets |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-480 | s 355-480 Claim earlier-year associate expenditure only when paid and not otherwise claimed |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-505-545 | ss 355-505 to 355-545 Allocate R&D partnership expenditure, assets, recoupments and results to partners |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-580 | s 355-580 Claim Cooperative Research Centre contributions only for monetary contributions spent on registered activities |
R&D entities and eligible activities (Subdivision 355-B) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-25(1) | s 355-25(1) Design and conduct core R&D activities as systematic experiments to generate new knowledge |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-25(2) | s 355-25(2) to (6) Exclude activities that cannot be core R&D, including gambling and tobacco related activities |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-30 | s 355-30 Claim supporting R&D activities only where directly related, and on the dominant purpose test where required |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::355-35 | s 355-35 Confirm the claimant is an R&D entity |
Records and lodgement – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::ITAA36-262A | ITAA 1936 s 262A Keep records that explain the R&D claim, in English, for 5 years |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::R&D-schedule | Lodge the R&D Tax Incentive schedule with the company tax return, consistent with the registration |
Registration and findings (Industry Research and Development Act 1986 Part III) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-27A-27D | IRD Act ss 27A and 27D Register the R&D activities for each income year within 10 months after year end |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-27E-28H | IRD Act ss 27E, 27H and 28H Give the Board requested information within 30 days |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-27M-27N | IRD Act ss 27M and 27N Apply to vary or revoke a registration that does not reflect the activities conducted |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-28C-28D | IRD Act ss 28C and 28D Obtain an overseas finding before counting expenditure on R&D conducted outside Australia |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-28E | IRD Act s 28E and ITAA 1997 s 355-225(2) Do not claim expenditure acquiring core technology |
| australia-r-d-tax-incentive-income-tax-assessment-act-1997-division-355::IRD-31 | IRD Act s 31 Register group R&D through the head company of a consolidated or MEC group |
What is Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) and who does it apply to?
Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) is a compliance framework from Australia (Commonwealth) with 6 domains and 29 controls. Australia's R&D Tax Incentive: who can claim, what counts as core and supporting R&D and what is excluded, annual registration with AusIndustry within 10 months of year end, overseas and core technology findings, which expenditure and assets count, how the refundable and non-refundable offsets are worked out, the integrity and clawback rules for related parties, grants, feedstock and asset disposals, and the records a claimant must keep; with the September 2026 reform exposure draft recorded as pending. It is used by organisations to establish and maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
What does Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) actually require?
Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) has 29 controls organised across 6 domains. The largest domains are Integrity rules, clawback and catch-up (Subdivisions 355-F to 355-H and 355-W) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (8 controls), Notional deductions and expenditure conditions (Subdivisions 355-D, 355-E and 355-I to 355-K) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (8 controls), Registration and findings (Industry Research and Development Act 1986 Part III) – Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) (6 controls). Each control defines specific requirements that organisations must implement to achieve compliance.
If I already comply with another framework, how much of Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) do I already cover?
Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355) does not currently have cross-framework mappings in our system. Check back as we continuously expand our mapping database.
How do I implement Australia R&D Tax Incentive (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 355)?
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