How the R&D credit applies to Naples businesses

The federal R&D tax credit rewards work that tries to solve a technical problem through design and testing. In Naples that often means medical and life sciences teams, software companies, marine businesses and specialty builders developing something new.

The credit is claimed on the federal return, so Collier County companies follow the same rules as any other. Many are S corporations or LLCs, so the credit passes through to the owners and your CPA files it with the return.

Work we often see in and around Naples

• Medical device and life sciences: device design, prototyping and testing

• Software and technology: new features, automation and data systems

• Marine and boat building: marine design, materials and custom builds

• Construction and contractors: engineered methods and custom systems for specialty building

Work that often qualifies

• Designing and testing a new medical device or component

• Building new software features or analytics

• Developing a custom marine product and refining it after tests

• Engineering a specialty building system for a hard site problem

• Improving a process and recording the trials

Work that usually does not

• Routine clinical or service delivery

• Maintenance and repairs with a known fix

• Cosmetic design and content changes

Costs that count

Wages for the people doing the work, supplies used in testing and a share of outside contractor costs can count when they tie to a qualifying project. We match each cost to a project so your CPA has a file that holds up if the IRS asks.

What to bring to a screening

• A list of products and projects from the last few years

• Who worked on them and about how much time they spent

• Test records, design files, tickets or notes

• Payroll and supply totals for those projects

Based in Sarasota, we work with Naples and the rest of Collier County, and with businesses across Florida and the United States.