Qualifying for the R&D Tax Credit Can Financially Save Your Company

Staying ahead of the competition is a challenging and often expensive task. While many economic incentives are targeted at a particular industry or even a specific company, the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit helps level the playing field and incentivizes business growth in the United States. As a general business credit, it provides valuable cash savings, enabling reinvestment and growth.  

The federal R&D tax credit, also known as the Research and Experimentation (R&E) tax credit, provides up to approximately 10% of project-qualifying expenditures. To determine if a research project (or portion of a project) is eligible for inclusion in the credit R&D credit, the business component (the R&D credit phrase for “project”) and associated activities must satisfy the R&D tax credit 4 part test.

It must be undertaken for a Permitted Purpose, which includes a new or improved product or process function, performance, reliability, or quality. Specifically excluded are efforts related purely to aesthetics or taste. 

There must be Technological Uncertainty related to the capability, methodology, or design of the business component. This requirement excludes economic uncertainty and other uncertainties related to market acceptance or performance.  

The project or activity must be Technological in Nature. The business component must rely on a hard science such as engineering, physical or biological sciences, or computer science. A qualified business component cannot be based on soft sciences such as arts, humanities, social science, or psychology.

A Process of Experimentation must be used to resolve the uncertainty. The taxpayer must demonstrate how business components progress from initial concept through design, testing, and validation to commercialization and also how the technological uncertainty is mitigated throughout this process.  

When a project is determined to meet the above four criteria, the associated expenses for that project can be quantified and used to generate an R&D tax credit. Qualified research expenses consist of the following three basic expense categories: 

Wages include the eligible portion of all taxable compensation and are typically the major driver of R&D credits. Qualified wages is the portion of an employee’s compensation corresponding to the percentage of working time engaged in one of the following designations:

Supplies are the materials used to evaluate and test designs throughout the development process. Eligible supplies include items used in prototype builds, business component performance evaluations, and engineering software licenses.

Contract Research is outside vendor expenses paid to individuals or other businesses on behalf of the company engaging in qualified research. Generally, if the service performed would be considered an in-house qualified wage expense, the amount is includable.  Any contract research expenses are included at 65% and must occur in the United States.

While the federal R&D credit has existed in one form or another since 1981, more recent legislation has bolstered the valuable incentive. On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act. This legislation addressed several limitations on applicability and usability that many taxpayers struggled with before the PATH Act. The PATH Act contained several key provisions: 

Historically, the R&D credit was extended for a year or two and often was left to lapse, only to be retroactively extended. This limited the ability of businesses to plan their R&D expenditures accordingly, limiting some of the credit’s impact. The PATH Act extended and made permanent the R&D credit. Now, companies of all types can develop long-term plans with the R&D credit factored in. 

The AMT restriction frustrated many taxpayers who could not offset tax with the R&D credits their businesses were generating. The PATH Act allowed eligible small businesses (ESB) to offset tax liability below their AMT amount. An ESB is defined as a corporation that is not publicly traded, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship with average annual gross receipts not exceeding $50 million for any of the three taxable years preceding the current taxable year.

One major flaw with incentivizing R&D investment through a tax credit is that a business must have taxable income to offset to benefit. This meant many high-tech startups and young companies could not use the R&D credit. This changed with the PATH Act, as now Qualified Small Businesses (QSBs) can use the R&D tax credit to offset the FICA portion of the employer payroll tax.

A QSB is defined as a business with less than $5 million in annual gross receipts and has no gross receipts for more than five years. The maximum payroll tax offset per year is $250,000 and can be utilized for up to five years. This valuable enhancement to the R&D tax credit enables startups to keep up to $1.25 million at work during a critical phase in a company’s lifecycle.  

The R&D tax credit is a complicated intersection of congressional intent, IRS regulations, and tax court rulings. The process, while complex, can be navigated efficiently and effectively with the right help. Our R&D credit experts are here to provide direction and help you create a plan to use this credit to help build your business. Contact us to get started.