San Diego · R&D Tax Credit
San Diego's biotech and life-sciences companies often carry substantial qualifying R&D spend. Staxiom's practice is led by a co-founder who ran EY's West Coast R&D Tax Credit group for 13 years, on fixed fees, never a percentage of the refund.
Federal and California R&D credit studies for biotech, life-sciences, and tech work.
No contingency or percentage-of-refund pricing, ever.
Pre-revenue companies applying the credit against payroll tax instead of income tax.
A clinical-stage company with years of R&D spend before any revenue can still benefit from the federal credit's payroll tax offset, up to $500,000 a year applied against payroll tax instead of income tax. California's own R&D credit, 15% of qualified research expenses over a base amount, doesn't have that offset, so it only helps once there's California income tax liability, worth planning around rather than assuming both credits land the same way.
Read the full breakdown on the R&D tax credit guide, or see how this looks for Los Angeles and Orange County startups.
Often yes, biotech and life-sciences R&D tends to involve significant qualifying wages plus contract research and lab costs, both of which can count toward the credit if the work meets the IRS's four-part test. The size of any specific claim still depends entirely on a company's actual qualifying spend, not its industry.
Yes, through the federal credit's payroll tax offset, up to $500,000 a year can apply against payroll tax instead of income tax, which is often the more useful path for a clinical-stage company with years of R&D spend before any revenue. California's own R&D credit doesn't have that payroll offset, so it only helps once there's state income tax liability.
Add your revenue and website for a full review, reviewed by a CPA who ran EY's West Coast R&D Tax Credit practice for 13 years.