innoscripta

United States

Make your R&D credits IRS-defensible

IRS scrutiny is increasing. We help US innovation teams build R&D evidence that stands up to audits, built into the workflow, not reconstructed after.

Lukas Hehle

Lukas Hehle

Managing Director
PepsicoElectroluxAtlas CopcoBorgwarnerDaikinSound Cloud

R&D Tax Credit (IRC Section 41)

Max cashback20%
14% ASC most common.
Assessment basisNo annual limit
Uncapped qualifying expenses.
Filing deadlineWithin 3 years
Filed with corporate tax return.
Who can applyAll company sizes
Startups to enterprises.
Retroactive claimsYes
Amended returns accepted.
Eligible costsPersonnel, contractors, cloud, materials
W-2 wages, 1099s, supplies.

For every $1M in R&D spend, see an illustrative estimate of $100K

Use the calculator to get an estimate on your Funding potential. Actual eligibility and outcomes depend on your circumstances and the applicable rules.

Most R&D claims fail not on merit, but on proof

Risk
After-the-fact narratives

Retroactively written project descriptions are red flags for IRS auditors.

Spreadsheet-based estimates

Excel lacks a timestamped audit trail, making time allocations impossible to defend.

Documentation assembled too late

Reconstructing evidence takes 40 to 60 engineer hours and still leaves gaps.

Key staff turnover

When technical leads leave, experimentation decisions become a serious audit exposure.

Clusterix
Real-time evidence capture

Every R&D activity is logged as it happens with timestamped, user-attributed records. No reconstruction needed.

Direct system integration

Jira, SAP, GitHub sync automatically. Every hour is linked to a project, a person, and a cost category.

Automated Section G reports

Form 6765 technical reports generated in seconds. Zero engineer hours spent on compliance prep.

Permanent audit trail

Version-controlled project history and decision logs. ISO 27001 certified. Independent of any individual.

See how Clusterix makes you IRS-defensible

R&D evidence captured as it happens. No reconstruction, no spreadsheets, no engineer hours lost.

Engineers work, evidence builds itself
UPC
“We always felt well supported and could rely on our concerns being taken seriously and dealt with promptly. Another plus point was the flexibility of the innoscripta team. No matter what challenges or changes arose during the course of the project, innoscripta always found a solution that met our requirements.”
Karl-Michael Winter, Managing DirectorUPC
read story

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about the U.S. R&D Tax Credit.

Qualified Research Expenses (QREs) include W-2 wages for employees performing R&D, payments to US-based contractors (65% of costs), supplies consumed during R&D, and cloud computing costs used for experimentation. The work must satisfy the IRS Four-Part Test.
Yes. Eligible startups (under $5M in gross receipts, less than 5 years of revenue) can offset up to $500,000 per year in payroll taxes (FICA). This means you get immediate cash benefit without needing taxable income.
Starting in 2022, Section 174 requires companies to capitalize and amortize R&D expenses over 5 years (domestic) or 15 years (foreign) instead of deducting them immediately. As of 2025, immediate expensing for domestic R&D has been restored, improving liquidity.
Yes. Over 35 states offer their own R&D tax credits on top of the federal credit. States like California, Massachusetts, and Texas have particularly generous programs. Clusterix documentation supports both federal and state filings.
The IRS expects contemporaneous documentation: technical evidence (project plans, Jira tickets, code commits, meeting notes), financial records (W-2s, contractor invoices, cloud bills), and Form 6765 Section G narratives per business component.
You can file amended returns for up to 3 prior tax years. Many companies discover significant unclaimed credits from previous years. Clusterix can help identify and document retroactive QREs for these amended filings.

Ready to make your R&D credits IRS-defensible?

Book a call with our US team. We'll show you how Clusterix captures R&D evidence in real-time.

Lukas Hehle

Lukas Hehle

Managing Director
innoscripta

The data layer for R&D, a continuous, verifiable record of the work your teams actually do, captured at source. Publicly listed, ISO 27001-certified, in 20+ countries.

innoscripta provides software solutions, documentation support, and general information on R&D funding. Our services do not include individual tax, legal, or financial advice.

Eligibility, funding rates, and potential outcomes depend on the applicable laws and regulations as well as the specific circumstances of the company and the respective project. Before submitting an application, we therefore recommend seeking qualified tax, legal, or financial advice where appropriate.

For further information, please refer to our information notice.



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Make your R&D credits IRS-defensible | innoscripta