How the R&D credit applies to engineering and architecture firms
The federal R&D tax credit rewards design work that faces real technical uncertainty and is resolved through modeling, analysis and testing. Engineering and architecture firms meet that bar when a project needs a solution that is not already a standard detail. Most of it is billed as design hours and never labeled research.
Florida engineering and architecture firms claim the credit on their federal returns. Many are S corporations or LLCs, so the credit passes through to the owners, and your CPA files it with the return.
Work that often qualifies
Designing custom structural, mechanical or systems solutions with no standard answer
Modeling and simulating performance of new designs
Developing new methods, details or materials for a project
Building prototypes or mock-ups and testing them
Reworking a design after analysis or testing showed it would not perform
Work that usually does not
Routine drawings and details taken from standards
Drafting, permitting and administrative work
Surveys and site inspections
Style, appearance and aesthetic design choices
Costs that count
Wages for engineers, designers and technicians working on qualifying projects count, along with supplies used in prototypes and testing, and a share of what you pay outside specialists. Who funds the work and who bears the risk matters here, so we review client contracts early. We tie each cost to a specific project so your CPA has a file that holds up if the IRS asks.
What to have ready
A list of custom or first-of-its-kind projects from the last few years
The people who worked on them and roughly how much time they spent
Client contracts and scopes for those projects
Calculations, models, test results and design revisions
You do not need all of this to start. The free screening takes 5 to 10 minutes and tells you whether a full study is worth it.
We also work with engineering and architecture firms outside Florida. The federal credit works the same in every state, and we run the screening remotely or in person.
Find out what your work has earned
Free 5 to 10 minute screening. See which of your projects can earn a credit.
Why us
Why businesses choose Strategic Incentive
We are a Sarasota firm that pairs R&D credit specialists with a practicing CPA, so every study is built for the return it feeds.
A CPA partner behind every study
A practicing CPA is part of our team, so the work is built for the return it feeds.
Project-level documentation
Each qualifying project is documented on its own, not covered by boilerplate.
An audit-ready file
Your CPA gets the calculations, narratives and records in one organized package.
How it works
How a study works
Four steps from the first screening to a filed, audit-ready claim.
1
Free screening
A 5 to 10 minute screening based on the IRS four-part test. We review your answers and estimate whether a credit is likely.
2
Discovery interview
A guided conversation and a questionnaire built for your business document each qualifying project.
3
Calculation
We calculate the credit and prepare Form 6765 support, project narratives and employee time allocations.
4
CPA hand-off
We work with your CPA or tax preparer and hand over an audit-ready package. If the IRS asks questions, we respond.
FAQ
Common questions
Straight answers before you start a screening.