The US R&D Tax Credit

Fuel Innovation and Growth

If you're leading innovation in the United States, Boast is here to help you secure the R&D tax credits you deserve—quickly and effortlessly.

With features like real-time tracking of your claim, R&D investments, secure data management, and digital audit binder, Boast offers complete transparency and control, keeping you well-informed at every step of your R&D tax credit claim.

What is the R&D Tax Credit?

Internal Revenue Code Section 41 is a federal tax incentive that lets businesses claim a credit for eligible expenses tied to Research and Development (R&D) activities carried out in the United States.

Established in 1981 and made permanent in 2015, the R&D tax credit encourages companies to invest in innovation by offsetting costs associated with developing new or improved products, processes, software, techniques, formulas or inventions.

Every year, thousand of business across the U.S. use this source of non-dilutive funding to help extend their project runways and stretch their R&D investments further.

Who Is Eligible?

Businesses of any size or sector can claim the R&D tax credit, provided they meet these criteria:

  1. Your business must engage in qualified research activities as defined by the IRS
  2. Your business must have incurred eligible research expenses in the current or previous tax years
  3. Your business must be located in the United States

Qualified Research Activities

Activities to develop new or improved products, processes, software, techniques, formulas or inventions

Activities that are technological in nature involving engineering, computer science, biological sciences, etc.

Process of experimentation to overcome technical uncertainties.

Common Eligible Industries

Software & Gaming

Boast specializes in software and gaming claims. We know what qualifies, and how to get the most from your R&D investments.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing R&D has its own challenges. Maximize your claim with Boast experts who know how to claim manufacturing R&D the right way.

Biomedical & Life Sciences

Detailed documentation is required for biomedical and life sciences claims. Fortunately, Boast works with you to identify eligible work from your detailed records.

Energy & Utilities

Boast experts help maximize energy claims based on your detailed R&D project, financial, and payroll records.

Computer Manufacturing

The computer manufacturing industry has been one of the most important and innovative industries.

Operating Systems & Productivity Software Publishing

The R&D Tax Credit is a United States government incentive for businesses who engage in research and development (R&D) for office software.

Software Development

The R&D Tax Credit for Software Development allows companies to deduct a portion of their eligible research and development (R&D) expenses from their taxes.

Telecommunications

The Telecommunication Network R&D Tax Credit is a federal incentive available to businesses conducting research and development related to telecommunication networks.

Web Publisher & Broadcaster

R&D Tax Credits for Publishers is a federal government incentive for publishers who produce certain types of media.

What Expenses Qualify?

The key expenses that can qualify for the R&D tax credit include:

  • Wages for employees directly working on R&D activities
  • Supplies and materials used for R&D purposes
  • Contractor/vendor costs for qualified R&D work
  • Cloud computing costs for R&D

How is the Credit Calculated?

The R&D tax credit is calculated as a percentage of eligible qualified research expenses (QREs). The rates are:

  • 20% credit for businesses with less than $50 million in gross receipts
  • 14% credit for businesses with over $50 million in gross receipts

The credit can be claimed annually and applied against a company’s payroll tax or income tax liability. Certain startup businesses may also be able to use the credit against their payroll taxes.

Simplify Your R&D Tax Credit Claims with Boast

Boast provides an innovative software solution to automate and maximize your R&D tax credit claim, while providing expert tax professionals to guide you.

With Boast’s technology and expertise, you get larger, more accurate claims with less time and effort from your team. You can truly accelerate your innovation funding with Boast.

Automated time tracking integrated with your existing tools

AI-powered expense identification across payroll, cloud, etc.

In-house tax experts to review eligibility and file claims

Audit protection services to defend claims if needed

What customers say about Boast

We wanted to pursue an R&D tax credit refund with Boast once we understood the opportunity it posed for us. We love Boast’s technology-first approach which is different from traditional approaches with how it streamlines the process.

Bhaskar Anepu, Co-founder, Smirta
One of the things I liked about Boast was that I didn’t have to be a domain expert to maximize our output…I still don’t fully understand how it works, but it works perfectly, and that’s what matters.
Weston Baker, CEO and Founder, Morphic

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