Why podiatry practices qualify
The four-part testNew to your practice counts
A technique, a device, or a fabrication process only has to be new to your practice. Podiatrists elsewhere may have used it for years.
Every unusual foot brings unknowns
Which contour and placement will relieve this patient's pain is a technical question with no answer at the start. That uncertainty is what the credit rewards.
Fitting and refitting is experimentation
You fit a custom orthotic, see the patient again in a month, and redesign what did not work. Those rounds are the evidence.
The science is already there
Your work rests on biomechanics and medicine. For podiatry, the science test is the easy part.
A short study shows where your practice qualifies, and proves it. Read the four-part test in the words of the statute.
What qualifies in practice
Work you already do- Custom orthoticsMeasuring an unusual foot and designing an orthotic for it, then refining the contour until the pain subsides, is qualified work.
- In-house fabricationBringing a mill into the practice and working out how to produce a shell that holds its shape and fit is development, and the learning curve counts.
- Prototypes and rejected shellsThe shells that never reached a patient are part of the cost of getting the process right.
- The edge casesCommon cases are settled care. The patients the standard treatment does not fit are where the eligible time lives.
- Surgical techniqueIntroducing a technique new to your practice and refining how you deliver it satisfies the experimentation test.
- Follow-up and redesignTracking whether a solution worked at the next visit and redesigning what did not is the experiment, documented.
- Clinic process workReworking how patients move through the practice to cut error rates counts when the work is technical, even on non-surgical days.
- New devices and materialsEvaluating whether a new material or device performs in your procedures is qualified evaluation.
Where the credit comes from
The expenses that countClinical wages
The time your doctors spend on the work is the largest piece, and the staff who directly support or supervise it count too.
Outside contractors
A share of what you pay U.S. contractors brought in for one-off fabrication or setup work counts toward the credit.
Supplies and prototypes
Materials milled into shells and orthotics that never reached a patient can count as well.
What does not count
Routine visits, standard treatments, administrative time, and work done as a hospital employee stay out. The study draws that line honestly.
Common questions
We are a surgical practice. We do not develop anything. Do we qualify?
A technique, a fabrication process, a clinic protocol, or a device workflow that is new to your practice qualifies. Surgical practices refine those constantly.
Is it only the doctor's time that counts?
The doctor drives the work, and the people directly supporting or supervising it count too. A physician assistant recording the sequence of a procedure or a senior surgeon overseeing it is part of the experiment. Administrative staff are not.
Does my hospital work count?
The credit belongs to the practice you own. Work performed as a hospital employee stays out, and the practice's own work is what the study captures.
Podiatrists have done this for years. Does it still count for us?
Yes. The standard is new to your practice. Bringing a method in and perfecting it for your patients qualifies, whatever the profession has done elsewhere.
We brought orthotic fabrication in-house. Does the learning curve count?
Yes. The shells that never reached a patient, the materials, the outside help, and the staff time spent on quality control are development costs until the process produced a usable orthotic.
We do not track our time. Is that a problem?
No time tracking is required. An interview of about an hour with the person who did the work produces a reasonable estimate, checked against what a practice like yours would plausibly spend.
I am only in surgery a few days a month. Do clinic days count?
Process and technique work on clinic days counts when it is technical, such as cutting error rates or refining how a procedure is delivered.
Who decides when a process stops being new?
The interview does. The moment you can say a problem was figured out, or a fabricated product went into regular use, is where that activity's eligible time ends.
Does the size of the practice matter?
No. Smaller practices produce smaller credits, and the credit grows with the practice as the work expands.
How far back can we claim?
Up to three prior tax years, by amended return. The current year's credit reduces the tax you owe when you file.
My CPA says we do not qualify. What then?
Skepticism is common, since the credit is a specialty. We speak with your CPA directly, with you copied, and answer their questions before anything is filed.
Do you file this for us?
We prepare the study and the credit form, and your CPA files them with the return. Think of it as a specialist working with your general practitioner.
Do newer practices do better?
Often. Their records are easier to gather and the calculation choices are wider, so the credits tend to be larger.
What records do we need?
Tax returns and payroll records for the prior three years, then an interview of about an hour. Fabrication logs and follow-up notes are the supporting evidence.
Which form does the credit go on?
Form 6765, filed with the return. From there it carries onto Form 3800 as part of the general business credit. The Form 6765 guide and the Form 3800 guide walk a CPA through both.
Thirty minutes shows whether you qualify.
Book a call and bring the person who knows the work. We will cover whether your practice qualifies and what a credit could be worth.
Book a call Or write to inquiries@thefoundryfirm.com