Tax Planning
The R&D credit is not just for laboratories
The problem
Owners assume the credit applies to pharmaceutical companies, then find out later that process development and product engineering work would have qualified.
Why it matters
The credit offsets tax dollar for dollar, and in some cases payroll tax for younger companies. Missed years may be recoverable, but only within the statute.
How to know if you have this
- You develop or improve products, processes, formulas or software
- Engineering or technical staff spend time solving uncertain problems
- You have never had a qualification study
- You perform design-build or custom fabrication work
How Advisory Motion solves it
- 01Screen activities against the four-part test before any study cost is incurred
- 02Quantify the likely credit so the decision is economic, not theoretical
- 03Coordinate contemporaneous documentation so the claim is supportable
- 04Evaluate whether prior open years justify amended returns
Illustrative example
Process development qualified
A fabricator's iterative work on a new production method met the test. The credit covered several years of the study cost in its first year.
Illustrative composite · not a client identification
Where this connects