The patent box and software companies

Software companies may be pleasantly surprised to discover that their inventions implemented in code could be patentable, and therefore capable of qualifying for the beneficial patent box tax regime. The way to establish whether software is patentable is to look beyond the computer code and assess whether the contribution it makes to ‘human knowledge’ is technical and inventive. If qualifying, the next step is to assess whether the companies supply a patented product or a patented process/service, and the nature of the income derived from the patent. This can be complicated, but the reduced 10% tax rate makes it worth the effort to explore.