US employee wages, supplies, contractors, and cloud hosting costs could potentially qualify for the R&D credit.

The primary benefit of the R&D Tax Credit is a direct reduction in your federal and potentially state income tax liability. It’s a dollar-for-dollar credit, meaning it directly reduces the amount of taxes owed. If the credit amount exceeds your tax liability in a given year, or if you weren’t profitable enough to utilize the full credit, you can carry the remaining credit back one year and forward up to 20 years. Certain startups that do not have any federal income tax liability may be eligible to use the credit to offset up to $500k in employer FICA payroll taxes.

We are a startup/small business that is not profitable yet, can we benefit from the R&D tax credit?

Absolutely! Startups and small businesses can see significant advantages from the R&D Tax Credit. Notably, there’s a provision that allows qualifying startups to offset employer FICA payroll taxes with the R&D credit, up to $500,000. To be eligible, the company must: have less than $5 million in gross receipts for the credit year; have no more than five years of gross receipts.

What Industries typically qualify?

While the following highlights industries that potentially qualify, it’s not an exhaustive list. The key is overcoming technical challenges in your industry: Technology & Software Development; Industrial Manufacturing; Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals; Food & Beverage; Architecture; Engineering.

What activities qualify?

The IRS uses a four-prong test (all four criteria must be met): 1. Permitted Purpose: relates to a new or improved product, process, software, invention, or formula in terms of Function, Performance, Reliability, Quality. 2. Technological in Nature: relies on principles of Physical science, Biological science, Engineering, or Computer science. 3. Elimination of Uncertainty: intended to discover information to eliminate technical uncertainty concerning capability, method, or design. 4. Process of Experimentation: identifying uncertainties, evaluating alternatives, and testing or modeling to refine or achieve the desired outcome.

Does my company qualify for the R&D tax credit?

Most companies developing or improving products, software, or processes qualify. Eligible work spans software development, hardware prototyping, biotech, and advanced manufacturing. We review your activity and confirm what counts before any claim is built.

Can a pre-revenue startup claim the credit?

Yes. The payroll tax offset is designed for early-stage companies, so you can claim up to $500K per year against payroll taxes even with no revenue and no income tax liability.

How much can we claim against payroll taxes?

Eligible companies can apply up to $500K per year against payroll taxes. The exact amount depends on qualified research expenses, including wages, contractor costs, and supplies tied to the work.

We’re profitable and past the startup window. Can we still benefit?

Yes. The payroll tax offset is limited to companies with less than $5 million in gross receipts and no more than five years of receipts, but the income tax credit has no such limit. Once profitable, the credit reduces your federal income tax liability dollar for dollar, and many states offer a parallel credit. Unused amounts carry back one year and forward up to 20 years.

What documentation does the IRS require?

The IRS expects a record of qualified activities and the expenses tied to them—wages, contractor costs, and supplies—supported by technical and financial detail. We prepare this documentation to IRS standards as part of the filing.

Do you work with our existing CPA?

Yes. We can provide the tax forms your accountant needs to incorporate the credit into your return, or handle the return ourselves.

What happens if we’re audited later?

Audits often come years after filing. Because we document each claim to IRS standards and have been in business more than a decade, the support is in place and we’re here to stand behind it if questions arise.

R&D Tax Credits

Reclaim up to $500K a year.

Most companies doing technical work qualify for R&D tax credits and never claim the full amount. We identify eligible work, document it to IRS standards, and apply the credit to your payroll provider, so the savings actually land.

Talk to an expert

38%

Avg savings on filing

$90k

Avg credit claimed by Finvisor clients

10+

Years in business

Why Finvisor

Specialists who do only this.

Our R&D experts focus solely on maximizing your eligible savings. Every client we’ve worked with has seen greater savings with our support than with their traditional CPA or a big-box R&D tax firm.

What we handle

What you get

Eligibility review across technical work
Confidence in exactly what qualifies
IRS-compliant documentation and filing
Audit-ready claims, start to finish
Credit applied to your payroll provider
Savings that actually reach your account
Coordination with your accounting
The credit integrated with your broader strategy
Work with your CPA, or let us handle the return
Flexibility either way

What we handle

Eligibility review across technical work

What you get

Confidence in exactly what qualifies

What we handle

IRS-compliant documentation and filing

What you get

Audit-ready claims, start to finish

What we handle

Credit applied to your payroll provider

What you get

Savings that actually reach your account

What we handle

Coordination with your accounting

What you get

The credit integrated with your broader strategy

What we handle

Work with your CPA, or let us handle the return

What you get

Flexibility either way

More qualify than you think

Capture savings at every stage.

Many founders assume credits are only for large or profitable companies. In reality, the same qualifying work pays off whether you’re pre-revenue or profitable. The way you benefit simply evolves as you grow.

Early-stage: payroll offset

Up to $500K a year against payroll taxes

No revenue required to qualify

Savings land before you owe income tax

Established & profitable: income-tax offset

Dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal and state income tax

A credit you can claim every year you do qualifying work

Carry unused credit back one year, forward up to 20 years

All stages

Qualifying work spans software, hardware, biotech, and manufacturing

Sized, documented, and defended — whether we file or your CPA does

Placeholder illustration — More qualify than you think

Last-mile delivery

Our job isn’t done until you see the benefit.

Most providers prepare the forms and walk away, leaving you to handle the payroll process on your own. We apply your claim to your payroll provider and stay with it until the savings land.

Credit applied directly to your payroll provider

See a 15–20% reduction in operational costs

On average, 38% lower calculation fees than the big names

Placeholder illustration — Last-mile delivery

Compliance that lasts

A partner who’ll still be here at audit time.

IRS audits can arrive years after a claim is filed, when the firm that prepared it may be long gone. We keep your documentation IRS-ready and, after more than a decade in business, we will still be here if questions come up.

Faster, IRS-compliant R&D tax credit claims

Integrated with your broader accounting

More than a decade in business and still here

Placeholder illustration — Compliance that lasts

What founders say

Real savings, reinvested into the business.

“I have observed that Jodi is proactive, exceptionally intelligent, and extremely capable. She has proven to be a valuable asset to our cash flow, which is vital for a small business like XiO.”

Bryan Collins, COO

XiO, Inc

“The Finvisor team has been great. Our financials had been a mess since we opened and the Finvisor team cleaned them up and have been on top of every detail.”

Ryan Schaper, Operations Manager

Flagship

“Unlike other firms that we have worked with in the past, they are exceptional listeners, provide sound and scalable advice, and always have our best interests at heart.”

Brian Hassan, Co-Founder

Kickfin

FAQ

Questions we hear all the time.

If yours isn’t here, we’d love to answer it directly.

Ask us a question

The R&D credit was introduced in 1981 to increase technical jobs in America by encouraging businesses to invest in research and innovation. The R&D credit may be claimed by taxpaying businesses that develop, design, or improve products, processes, formulas, or software.

Find out what you’re leaving unclaimed.

Tell us about the projects your team is working on and we’ll estimate the credit you could capture this year.

Talk to us

Reclaim up to $500K a year.