Industry Brief  ·  Engineering Firms

Your calculations are research.

The federal R&D tax credit pays for design work your firm already does. Most consulting engineering 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 structure or system your firm hasn'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 at your firm

Work you already bill for
  • Structural system designChoosing and sizing a system for one building on one site.
  • Site and civil designGrading, drainage, and stormwater for a difficult site.
  • Mechanical and electrical designHVAC, plumbing, and power systems built to hit performance targets.
  • Analysis and modelingFinite element, energy, and hydraulic models run to make a design work.
  • Foundation designPoor soils, high water, and existing structures that force alternatives.
  • Retrofit and adaptive reuseMaking an existing structure carry a new use.
  • Code-constrained redesignKeeping the design intent alive under a hard code limit.
  • Construction-phase fixesAnswering an RFI with a redesigned detail.

The four questions, for engineering firms

§41's four-part test
  1. Did you design something new to your firm?It doesn't have to be new to the profession.
  2. Did it take real know-how?Easiest part for you. Your designs rest on engineering and math.
  3. Were you unsure at the start?Will the system carry the load on that site?
  4. Did you try options to find out?Analysis runs, alternatives, and revised drawings are exactly that.

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

Engineering firms ask

We stamp drawings on standard buildings. Do we qualify?

Repeat designs from a template rarely do. Projects where the site, the loads, or the program forced a new solution do.

Our contracts are hourly. Does that matter?

Either kind of contract can support a claim when payment depends on the design working. What matters is whether your firm carried the technical risk and kept the right to reuse what it learned. The study reviews the terms.

Do project managers' hours count?

Yes, for the time they spend directing or supporting qualifying design work.

Does construction administration count?

No, and neither do inspections. The design problem solving behind them does.

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
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 Electrical Contractors

Your one-lines are research.

Design-build distribution, controls, and prefab assemblies can be qualified systems work.

Read the brief

Give us thirty minutes.

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

Book a call Not ready to talk? See if you’re a fit in two minutes.