Federal R&D Tax Credit FAQ

Who Qualifies?

A company may qualify for the R&D tax credit if they have invested time, money and resources toward developing new products or improving existing products; developing new materials; building and testing prototypes and models; developing new or improved software applications; testing new concepts; developing or improving manufacturing processes; experimentation and more. Any company trying to improve what they do, be more competitive, reduce costs or increase market share will have qualifying activities. Together, we will determine the extent of the qualifying activities, the amount of the resulting tax credit, and whether the company can utilize the credits once they have been identified and documented.

How do I know if the credit will benefit my company?

• The first step is to evaluate your ability to utilize the credit. The R&D tax credit can be used to reduce regular tax down to the minimum tax levels. The R&D tax credit cannot be used to offset alternative minimum tax (except for 2010 credits for Small Businesses). For individuals, use federal tax Form 6251 to determine the spread between regular and tentative minimum tax. For corporations, use federal tax Form 4626. Unused credits carry back one year and then carry forward for up to 20 years (except for 2010 credits for Small Businesses which carry back five years).

• Once it is determined there is sufficient tax available for your company to benefit from the credit, it is time to proceed to the next step which includes determining the qualifying research expenditures and the resulting tax credit.

How many years can I claim the credit?

You can go back to any open tax year, which typically is the prior three years. For example, if you have a December 31 year-end and you filed your 2008 tax return on September 1, 2009, your 2008 tax return is open until September 1, 2012.

Our company operates just as we have for the past 40 years. We do have new products, but how is that Research & Development?

In 2003, the definition of Qualifying Research Activities was clarified through regulations and includes many day-to-day activities. If you are conducting engineering activities that are new to you as a company and there is risk associated with the success of the outcome, this may qualify as R&D.

Our company has been in existence since 1973. I heard that I need to have financial records from that far back or I can’t claim the credit. Is this true?

• The credit is based on an increase in spending over a base amount. If you had research activities in 1984-1988, this would be considered your base period and you would need information from this time frame to compute the credit using the regular credit method.

• There is an alternative simplified calculation method. This method allows companies that have not filed their tax returns to use the prior three years as their base calculation. You do need to file this on a current year return. The alternative simplified calculation cannot be used on prior year returns unless you have claimed it on those returns.

I don’t have time for this. It sounds great, but I am swamped with orders. How long will this take?

Many of our clients have this concern at the outset of the project and are surprised at how little disruption the process causes. In general, your personnel will spend 20 – 30 hours spread over several people (15 – 45 minutes from each person). Clients that are better organized and willing to assist us in upfront planning generally spend less time.

I heard something about this being highly scrutinized by the IRS. Is that true?

Yes, the IRS has identified the R&D tax credit as a Tier 1 issue which means that certain procedures for review and audit are in place and will be followed should your credit be selected for exam. SourceCorp’s experience has been that about 5% of our clients are selected for audit. If you are selected for audit, having the proper documentation and support is critical, and SourceCorp’s approach to R&D tax credit projects facilitates this.

Why Choose SourceCorp?

SourceCorp takes a different approach to R&D. We view this as a long-term relationship with our clients, demonstrated in the Free Assessment that we offer. Our technical team will evaluate each project free of charge and estimate the amount of potential tax credits before you proceed. Our fees are fixed, so you can budget appropriately and ensure each study makes financial sense for your company.

Has the credit been extended?

The credit expired December 31, 2011 and has not yet been extended. There continue to be proposals in Washington to extend the credit, enhance the credit and potentially even make the credit permanent. This is normal as the credit has expired and been extended 16 times over the past 30 years.