R&D tax credits are available for small businesses. Also known as the Research & Development tax credit, small businesses could potentially offset up to $500,000 in payroll tax liability for qualifying activities (even those companies that are not yet profitable).
Likewise, expenses that can be potentially offset with this federal tax credit include employee wages, paying contractors, purchasing supplies, and many other costs.
So, if you have a small business that performs research and/or technology development activities, you can claim an R&D tax credit. The R&D tax credit can then be applied to offset payroll tax or income tax.
Benefits of the R&D Tax Credit
Claiming the R&D tax credit enables small businesses to:
- Increase cash flow and significant savings
- Reduce the Federal tax rate
- Receive Federal and State dollar-for-dollar income tax reduction
- Ability to claim the credit for open tax years going back 3 to 4 years
What are the Qualifications for Small Businesses to Claim the R&D Tax Credit?
In order to apply for the R&D tax credit, your small business must meet the below criteria:
- 5 years or less in revenue
- Have less than $5 million in revenue in the current year
- Have conducted qualifying research activities and expenditures
Additionally, if your small business paid for any of the below, it might also qualify for the tax credit:
- Employees or sub-consultants performing research
- Raw materials
- Consumable supplies during development
- Cloud computing services related to development operations
Claiming for Small Businesses
The following are examples of qualified research activities for small businesses to claim under the R&D tax credit:
- Design and development of new or improved software applications
- Development of conceptual designs and defining requirements and specifications for new or improved products
- Development of tooling, fixtures, and dies
- Building and testing prototypes
- Development of production processes and equipment
- Evaluation and testing of new materials for product development
Also, there are different ways of getting help with tax credits. A couple of ways are via software applications and consultants.
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