If you’re investing in innovation and technology development, our R&D tax credit consultant services can significantly reduce your tax liabilities.
If you're building anything—software, products, prototypes, or even internal tools—and not claiming R&D credits, you're paying too much in taxes. Period.
The Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit rewards US companies for investing in innovation and technological advancements. It lets you offset federal income tax (or payroll tax for startups) based on qualifying innovation. Most firms qualify without realizing it, even contractors, engineers, and software teams. It’s one of the most powerful underutilized credits in the tax code.
The R&D Tax Credit is a permanent federal incentive enacted permanently through the PATH Act of 2015, the credit allows companies of all sizes—including startups—to reduce their federal income tax liability for qualified research expenses (QREs). These expenses must support activities focused on developing or improving products, processes, software, or technologies.
R&D Tax Credits provide companies with dollar-for-dollar cash savings for performing activities related to research and development. These credits encourage companies, both large and small, to increase spending on R&D within the country for driving long-term technological change and innovation. The credit is available to a wide range of industries and can be claimed retroactively, making it a powerful tool for businesses to offset the costs of developing new products, processes, or technologies.
Many states offer their own versions of the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit, designed to complement the federal incentive. These state-level credits vary in terms of eligibility criteria, credit rates, and calculation methods, but the majority of these states use criteria similar to the federal credit (IRC §41).
Qualifying activities can include:
The credit is available to businesses in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, energy, software, food and beverage, and more. Thorough documentation is essential to support and defend any R&D Tax Credit claim. To qualify, activities must meet the Four-Part Test, which includes:
→ $129K in federal credits used to offset income tax
→ $74K credit for custom project design work
→ $78K in R&D credits used against payroll
With years of experience in helping businesses claim the R&D Tax Credit, Specialty Tax Advisors ensures you fully leverage available incentives to maximize your savings. Here’s why companies trust us:
Our team has extensive experience navigating the complexities of the R&D Tax Credit, helping businesses of all sizes maximize their savings.
We ensure all qualifying research activities are well-documented and substantiated to withstand IRS scrutiny, minimizing the risk of audits.
From identifying eligible activities to filing your claim, we provide end-to-end support throughout the R&D Tax Credit process.
We develop personalized R&D tax strategies based on your unique activities and industry, ensuring you claim all eligible expenses for maximum benefit.
We've successfully helped numerous clients claim substantial tax credits, with savings ranging from thousands to millions of dollars.
We work closely with your CPA and other financial advisors, ensuring your entire tax strategy is aligned to maximize savings while maintaining compliance.
The R&D Tax Credit is a federal tax incentive designed to reward companies for investing in research and development activities that advance technological innovation. It allows businesses to offset federal income taxes or payroll taxes (for startups).
Any U.S. business involved in product development, software development, process improvements, or experimental design may qualify. This includes manufacturers, engineers, software companies, and contractors.
Qualifying activities include creating new products, improving existing products, developing new software, creating prototypes, and experimenting with new materials or techniques.
Yes, startups can apply the credit against payroll taxes if they don’t have taxable income. This helps reduce costs and improve cash flow, even in the early stages of the business.
The R&D Tax Credit can be claimed retroactively for the past three years, allowing businesses to recover taxes for previous years where eligible R&D expenses were incurred.
Not at all, most “R&D” is real-world business problem solving.