To claim the R&D tax credit, taxpayers have two options. Businesses can claim the R&D tax credit on their tax return for a given year or by amending their prior returns to claim the credit.
The R&D tax credit covers a range of qualifying expenditures, such as employee compensation costs, materials expenses, leased or rented computer equipment, outsourced services expenses.
The R&D tax credit, also known as the Research & Development tax credit, is a federal tax credit designed for qualified businesses to offset their payroll tax - this includes startups. If you have a startup company that performs research and/or technology development activities, you can apply for up to $500,000 of research credit against income tax liability on your income tax return.