Research & Development (R&D)

Leveque Tower – Columbus

What is the R&D Tax Credit?

Federal research and development tax credits enable taxpayers to claim a credit against their income tax liabilities, and in the case of qualifying startups, against payroll tax obligations. The R&D credit was enacted in the 1980s but was only recently made permanent in the tax code. The credit is applicable to numerous industries. Despite this fact, the credit is historically underutilized and many executives remain unaware of its availability.

The industries below include companies that frequently qualify for research and development credits

Manufacturing
Software Development
Biotechnologies
Architecture
Engineering
Agriculture

How Do Companies Qualify for the R&D Tax Credit?

If your company engages in any of the following or similar categories of activities, you may be eligible to claim the credit: 

Spearheading new or improved product developments

Designing and implementing new/improved production processes or techniques

Creating and integrating new software applications

Developing prototypes or models to evaluate experimental designs

Benefits

Many states offer a complementary state R&D tax credit that applies to your state tax liability, helping to further increase the savings generated. Any open tax years in which the credit was not already claimed may be amended, resulting in a potentially significant boost of cash flow in the form of a refund due to overpayment. The credit allows companies to recoup a significant percentage of certain qualifying research related expenses, including:

Our Process

The team at Royse Partners not only specializes in completing R&D studies for our clients, but we have also strategically created a process that minimizes the time investment and maximizes returns. Our process is simple and effective:

Step 1
Consultation
This initial consultation comes at no cost to our clients and helps ensure that your business is a viable candidate for the credit. Our goal is to bring on businesses that have a high chance of qualification, saving you valuable time and effort.
Step 1
Step 2
Discovery & Evaluation
If the R&D credit is a good fit for your business, we'll schedule a discovery call to provide a brief overview of the process and understand your business. This information will be used to establish qualification criteria and set the stage for the rest of the study. We'll also discuss the documentation needed to evaluate your business’s qualification and credit calculation. By the end of this stage, we will provide an estimate of the R&D credits we expect to finalize by the end of the process so you can more quickly assess your overall tax landscape for planning purposes.
Step 2
Step 3
Qualification
Once viability has been identified, we will request any further required documents to quantify the value of your R&D credit. During this step, we will work together with your business to ensure that all the nuances of the credit are considered. Next, the study will go through three layers of review—the assigned project manager, a senior team member, and a final assessment from our in-house legal team.
Step 3
Step 4
Delivery
Once your study has been approved for release, we will deliver a Final Credit Letter (FCL) with credit schedules of any federal/state research and development tax credits which you qualify for. Each FCL will include instructions to assist you and your CPA with the filing process.
Step 4
Step 5
Substantiation
The last deliverable will be the completed final report that outlines the entirety of the study methodology and calculations along with a robust substantiation package tailored to your credit claim. We align ourselves with our clients by providing audit defense contracted through outside tax professionals to ensure your business remains in the best possible tax position during this time.
Step 5

About Us

Royse Partners excels in performing R&D tax credit studies for our clients and has streamlined a process designed to net you the largest return on your time investment. Better still, if we are unable to identify an eligible credit during the study process, you won’t be charged. Let us work tirelessly to properly calculate and substantiate your R&D tax credit claim!

See if your business qualifies for the R&D Tax Credit!

Contact us today for a no-cost consultation.