Industry Brief  ·  Architecture

Your drawings are research.

The federal R&D tax credit pays for design work your firm already does. Most firms never claim it.

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It costs nothing to find out. If there isn't enough credit to be worth claiming, you don't pay a thing.

New to youis enough. A building type you haven't solved before can count when you had to test your way to it.
4 years of creditin one study: this year, plus past years still open to amend, usually three.
Exam supportcomes with every study. If the IRS asks, we answer.

What counts in your studio

Work you already bill for
  • Schematic design roundsConcepts you test against the program and set aside are part of the record.
  • Structural system selectionWeighing steel against timber against concrete for one site.
  • Envelope designWorking out how a wall handles moisture, heat, and movement.
  • Energy and daylight modelingRunning the studies that make a design perform.
  • Difficult sitesPoor soils, tight lots, and steep grades force real design alternatives.
  • BIM coordinationFinding a clash between systems and redesigning around it.
  • Code-constrained redesignKeeping the design intent alive under a hard code limit.
  • Material evaluationTesting whether a new material holds up in your assembly.

The four questions, for architects

§41's four-part test
  1. Did you design something new to your firm?A building type you haven't solved before can be enough.
  2. Did it take real know-how?Structure, envelope, energy: your designs rest on engineering and math.
  3. Were you unsure at the start?Will the soil hold it? How will the wall handle moisture?
  4. Did you work through options?Rounds of drafts that test how a design performs are exactly that.

Unsure about any of these? That's what the call is for. The four-part test in plain English

Architects ask

We subcontract our engineering. Does it still count?

Yes. Your design work can count when your contracts leave the risk with you, and 65% of what you pay U.S. engineering consultants can count too. The study reads the contracts.

What records do we need?

The ones you already keep: drawings, redlines, models, and RFIs.

Does construction administration count?

No. Neither does picking the lobby art. Design problem solving counts; site administration, repeat production work, and marketing don't.

Filing, how far back, exams, and costs: common questions.

For your CPA: where the credit goes on Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, or 1040.

Other industry briefs

Where else it lands
Engineering Firms

Your calculations are research.

Analysis, alternatives, and revised designs can be qualified engineering work.

Read the brief Construction Contractors

Means and methods are research.

Design-build work, means and methods, and mockups can be qualified problem solving.

Read the brief HVAC and Mechanical Contractors

Your load calcs are research.

Design-build mechanical systems, sequences, and prefab can be qualified systems work.

Read the brief

Give us thirty minutes.

Bring whoever runs your design work. You'll leave knowing whether your projects qualify.

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