The research and development tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax liability for companies developing or improving products, processes, software, techniques, or formulas in the United States. It is one of the most valuable incentives in the code. And one of the least claimed.
The 30% problem
Only about 30% of companies that qualify for the research credit actually claim it. The reasons are consistent: businesses assume “R&D” means laboratories and patents, their CPA firm doesn’t offer the study internally, or they simply never asked. In practice, qualifying activity looks like engineering work, prototyping, tooling, process improvement, custom fabrication, and software development. The daily work of manufacturers, technology companies, AEC firms, and life-science businesses.
The bigger the payroll, the bigger the credit
The credit is driven substantially by qualified wages. Companies with engineers, designers, developers, machinists, and technical project managers on payroll routinely discover six-figure annual credits. And the credit is annual, not one-time. CORE has performed R&D credit studies nationally for over a decade, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax savings for clients.
Why work with a specialist
Most CPA firms outsource this work. The study requires technical interviews, contemporaneous documentation, and defensible nexus between activities and expenditures. That is engineering work as much as accounting work, which is why CPA firms partner with CORE to deliver it for their clients.
A feasibility review costs nothing: we outline your potential cash benefit based on business activities and payroll before you commit to anything.
