Grant specialists · R&D Tax Incentive
Grant specialists who know the R&D Tax Incentive in technical detail.
We work alongside your tax agent and guide your business through the R&D Tax Incentive — from finding eligible activities to registration and review. Over $30 million secured for Australian businesses. No win, no fee.
Technical depth
Most R&D claims are lost in the detail. The detail is where we work.
The R&D Tax Incentive is self-assessed: the company decides what qualifies and carries the risk if it does not. We read the legislation, the Department's guidance and the review outcomes so the claim you register is one you can defend.
Core vs supporting activities
Separating the experiment from the work around it, and applying the dominant-purpose test where supporting activities produce goods or services.
Technical uncertainty
Showing why a competent professional could not have known the outcome in advance — the point most rejected claims fail on.
Contemporaneous evidence
Setting up records during the year — hypotheses, trials, results — rather than reconstructing them at lodgement.
Software R&D
Distinguishing genuine technical experimentation from routine development and internal administration software.
Feedstock, clawback & overseas work
Flagging the adjustments that reduce a claim — feedstock outputs, government grants received, and R&D done offshore.
Reviews & findings
Responding to Department reviews, and using advance or overseas findings where certainty is worth getting up front.
What we secure
Two programs. One specialist team.
I.
R&D Tax Incentive
A 43.5% refundable offset for companies under $20m turnover — cash back even in a loss year. We work alongside your tax agent and take your team through each step of the RDTI process: eligible activities, evidence, registration and review.
Check eligibility →
II.
Export Market Development Grants
Up to 50% of eligible export promotion costs for SMEs under $20m turnover. Round 4 ceilings: $30k (Tier 1), $50k (Tier 2) and $80k (Tier 3) a year, up to eight grant years in total.
Ask about EMDG →What it could be worth
The offset at three levels of eligible spend.
Indicative only, for companies with aggregated turnover under $20 million. The offset replaces the ordinary deduction for that spend, so the net benefit over a normal deduction is lower than the headline figure. Above $20 million the offset is non-refundable and tiered. A $20,000 minimum spend applies in most cases.
How we work
Minimal time from your team. Technical rigour from ours.
Assessment
Free. We talk through your projects with your technical lead and tell you plainly whether there is a claim.
Scope & evidence
We map each activity to the legislation and gather the records that support it.
Registration & applications
R&D registration with the Department, or your EMDG application — lodged before the deadline.
Standing behind it
If the Department reviews your activities, we respond with you. Our fee depends on the result.
Key people
Meet some of the people behind your claim.
Top Grants is a specialist grants firm based in Norwest, NSW. Each of our two programs is led by a specialist with a dedicated team, and a third team works directly with your tax agent. You will first meet Grace Gao, who connects you with the right team for your business.
Specialist leads
Dr Win Yang
Head of R&D Tax Incentive
Leads every R&D Tax Incentive engagement and the team behind them. A formidable technical mind, Dr Win Yang sits down with your engineers and scientists, gets to the heart of what they are building, and deciphers exactly which parts of your work are eligible R&D and what that means for your claim.
Warren Yu
Head of EMDG
Leads every Export Market Development Grant engagement and the team behind them. Warren Yu works out which tier fits your export plans, builds an application grounded in your real promotion spend, and keeps your grant on track through each year's reporting to Austrade.
Client engagement & support
Grace Gao
Business Development Manager
Your first meeting with us. Grace Gao manages client engagement — getting to know your business and goals, then connecting you with the right team within Top Grants. Dedicated and passionate about helping Australian businesses grow.
Cathy Lau
Tax Agent Liaison Manager
Chartered Accountant since 2007, with a career spanning chartered firms and multinationals. Cathy Lau manages the team that works directly with your tax agent, so your R&D spend is traced to the records and claimed correctly.
Jeffrey Wang
R&D Engagement Liaison
Supports Dr Win Yang across every R&D Tax Incentive engagement and is the link between your team and ours — coordinating meetings and collecting the documents your claim needs.
Our teams
Industries
Manufacturing. Pharmaceuticals. Biotech. Software development. Renewable energy.
Process trials, prototyping and experiments that failed can all count as R&D. The question is never whether the work was hard — it is whether the outcome was genuinely unknown.
See what qualifies →Key dates
Dates that cost money if missed.
Your own deadline depends on your income year. Confirm it with us.
Questions
What owners and CFOs ask first.
Is the R&D Tax Incentive a grant?
No. It is a self-assessed tax offset. Activities are registered with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources each year, then the offset is claimed in the company tax return.
Do we need to be profitable?
Not if aggregated turnover is under $20 million. The 43.5% offset is refundable, so a loss-making company can receive it as cash.
Does software development count?
Sometimes. Software built to resolve a genuine technical unknown can qualify; software mainly for internal administration is excluded.
Do you replace our tax agent?
No. We work alongside your tax agent and guide you both through the RDTI process — eligibility, evidence, registration and any review. Your tax agent claims the offset in your return.
What if our claim is reviewed?
We work through the Department's questions with you, using the evidence file we built at registration.
How does no win, no fee work?
Our fee is a percentage of the benefit. If the claim or grant does not succeed, there is no fee.
Contact
No win, no fee. Start with a free assessment.
Tell us what you are working on. We reply within one business day.
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Email us for a free assessmentIf nothing opens, email hello@topgrants.com.au from any mail account.