R&D Tax Credit—what is it?

The R&D Tax Credit allows startups who meet certain requirements to use the credit against their federal tax bill and claim up to $250,000 towards FICA for payroll tax savings. The requirements for payroll tax savings include:

Gross receipts in previous five years of tax returns only
No more than $5 million in gross receipts in any year
Not a publicly traded company

What’s the catch?

Only qualified R&D activities are eligible for tax credit, which must pass the IRS’s 4-part test:

Permitted Purpose
a. New or Improved Business Component
Elimination of Uncertainty
a. Uncertainty related to business component
Process of Experimentation
a. Evaluate one or more alternatives, attempting to resolve uncertainty
Technological in Nature
a. Activities must rely on;
i. Physical Sciences
ii. Biological Sciences
iii. Engineering
iv. Computer Science

What’s the history behind

the tax credit and what’s changed?

The R&D Tax Credit has existed as a temporary year-to-year measure since 1981, requiring congressional approval every few years. However, in 2015, with the passage of the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act” (PATH), the R&D Tax Credit became permanent. In addition, the credit can now be used to offset payroll taxes (as well as income taxes), which allows even companies with net losses to receive the credit immediately.

That’s great, but what do I do now?

Here at Finvisor we can help you take advantage of the R&D Tax Credit. We have a dedicated team and an easy-to-use software to help walk you through the process. Click the link and fill out our form to get started.

R&D Tax Credit Estimator

*This calculator is just an estimate and is not an official quote or guarantee.
To fully understand how much you can save please contact us.

For any questions Contact us

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