R&D Tax Credit specialists
Built something new this year? That's worth a tax credit.
Staxiom checks your engineering work against the IRS's actual four-part test, backed by the bookkeeping and tax prep that make the credit defensible, not just claimed.
Your complimentary R&D credit review
Co-founded by a former Ernst & Young West Coast R&D Tax Credit practice head.
Built and backed by industry leaders with proven experience
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The IRS test isn't about your industry. It's about what you're actually doing.
Qualification comes down to whether the work involved real technical uncertainty and a process of experimentation to resolve it — not what sector you're in.
Building or improving software
New features, architecture rebuilds, algorithms, infrastructure — the day-to-day work of an engineering team usually clears the bar.
Building or improving hardware
Prototyping, testing, iterating on a physical product or device. The failed attempts count as much as the ones that worked.
Improving a manufacturing or technical process
Formulation work, process engineering, systematic trial and error to make something faster, cheaper, or more reliable.
Pure resellers, agencies using off-the-shelf tools, and franchises almost never qualify — we'll tell you honestly if that's what the scan finds, not just what you want to hear.
The credit, done properly — not bolted onto a calculator.
A credit that can't survive a real audit isn't worth claiming. Ours is built to.
R&D tax credit study
Your engineering work assessed against the IRS's actual four-part test — documented and defensible, not a guess.
Bookkeeping
The books that back the credit up — categorized, reconciled, and ready if anyone ever asks to see them.
Tax & entity structure
Returns filed on time, with the credit applied correctly — against income tax, or payroll tax if you're pre-revenue.
What the IRS actually checks before a dollar of credit is real.
Every credit we sign off on is checked against all four parts — not just "did you build something new." Skipping any one of these is exactly what turns a real credit into an audit risk.
Developing or improving a product, process, software, formula, or technique — not just using one that already exists.
Grounded in hard sciences — engineering, computer science, biology, physics — not soft sciences.
The capability, method, or design wasn't known at the outset — you had a real technical question to answer.
Modeling, simulation, or systematic trial and error — including the attempts that didn't work.
Beyond the R&D credit: we check the rest of the menu too.
Add your website above and we'll check it against the full federal and state credit menu — the R&D credit is usually the biggest line, but rarely the only one.
R&D Tax Credit
Building or improving software, hardware, or process. It's the headline credit.
State R&D / Incentive Programs
Many states run their own R&D credits on top of the federal one.
R&D Payroll Tax Offset
Pre-revenue companies can apply the R&D credit against payroll tax instead of income tax, up to $500k a year.
QSBS Exclusion
For eligible C-corp stock, can exclude a large share of capital gains when shares are eventually sold.
409A Valuation
What establishes the IRS safe harbor for granting stock options, and only valid for 12 months at a time.
Retirement Plan Startup Credit
For small employers starting a new 401(k) or retirement plan.
Small Employer Health Insurance Credit
For small employers covering at least half of premiums.
Disabled Access Credit
For small businesses making accessibility improvements.
We ran this practice before we automated it.
One co-founder ran the West Coast R&D Tax Credit practice at Ernst & Young for thirteen years — the four-part test above is the same one used on Big 4 clients, not a simplified version built for a lead-gen calculator.
Find out what your work is actually worth.
Add your revenue and website above for a full R&D credit review, or talk to us directly if you'd rather start with a conversation.
Built to hold up under scrutiny
Documentation built at the time the work happens, not reconstructed from memory during an audit.
Pre-revenue? The credit still applies
Apply it against payroll tax instead of income tax — up to $500k a year, no income tax bill required.