Dundee United could face a £600,000 bill after HMRC ordered the Tannadice outfit to repay a portion of its successful research and development (R&D) tax relief.
United were named alongside Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Fulham among the 28 sporting institutions to benefit from the scheme, which seeks to use public money to support science and technology breakthroughs.
The rules state that a club is only eligible to apply if it makes an advancement that benefits the overall field.
United received a £1.28m payout during the accounting period covering 2021/22.
That followed the launch of The United Lab in 2020, the brainchild of sporting director Tony Asghar, recruitment chief Sean McGee, performance consultant Ryland Morgans and head of research Dr Dan Parnell; all of whom have since left the club.
And HMRC have ordered a repayment from the Tangerines and, although the Tannadice side are in the process of appealing that decision, they are facing a six-figure outlay.
United appeal
United’s accounts for the year ending June 2024 confirmed: “Post year end, the club received a request from HMRC for the repayment of tax relating to an R&D claim in 2021.
“The club have appealed against this and, with support from R&D tax experts, are engaging with the tax authorities to demonstrate that the qualifying R&D requirements were met.
“If a payment is required to HMRC the R&D tax experts engaged are contractually liable to refund the club 20% of any such payment.
“The potential repayment estimation is anywhere between £0 – 0.6m.”
An HMRC spokesperson told the Courier: “R&D claims from all sectors are checked and where risks are identified we use a range of compliance approaches and powers to address them.”
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