Populous Holdingsv. Commissioner
An architecture firm's fixed-fee design work qualified under Section 41. Because the firm bore the financial risk and kept rights to its work, it wasn't “funded research.”
The R&D credit rewards the technical problems your firm solves every day. Most A&E firms never claim what their work has already earned.
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R&D isn't lab coats and white rooms. It's the problem you solved last week.
Architects and engineers resolve technical problems on every project, and the tax code calls that research. Most firms never claim it, so we made the work fast, and rigorous for a price that makes sense.
Whatever your discipline, the technical problem-solving in your work can earn a dollar-for-dollar credit. Here is what usually qualifies.
Two cases define the rules. A&E design qualifies as research; whether you can claim it comes down to your contracts.
An architecture firm's fixed-fee design work qualified under Section 41. Because the firm bore the financial risk and kept rights to its work, it wasn't “funded research.”
A structural engineer's credits were denied as “funded” because they didn't bear the financial risk of the research. The lesson: the contract decides it.
“Onshore found six figures in credits in work we'd already billed. Nothing changed about how we run projects.”
“They read our contracts and showed exactly which fixed-fee projects qualified. Our old CPA never looked.”
“A real engineer-turned-CPA walked us through the four-part test on our own projects. No black box.”
Link the project records and timesheets you already keep. No new software, no busywork.
Our agents map your projects to specific business components and the four-part test, and read your contracts for the funded-research rule.
A credentialed tax professional reviews every number, documents it the way the courts expect, and stands behind it through audit.
Often yes. Fixed-fee work where you bear the risk and keep rights to your methods can qualify, even though a client paid for it. We check your contracts to be sure.
The technical problem-solving behind specific systems and features: structural analysis, BIM coordination, building envelopes, energy modeling, and more. Routine drafting doesn't; resolving technical uncertainty does.
The assessment is free. If we find credits worth claiming, our fee is a share of what we recover, so you only pay when you save.
We work alongside your CPA on the credit specifically, with the documentation and contract analysis the IRS expects. You keep your accountant.
Tell us about your firm and we'll tell you plainly what you're likely owed. No cost, no obligation, and a real person to talk to.
Check your firm