R&D Study - RIVERSIDE, CA
Your Riverside Startup Is Probably Leaving $500,000 on the Table Every Year.
If your startup pays engineers, contractors, or cloud computing costs to build software or technology, you almost certainly qualify for federal and California R&D tax credits. Most Riverside founders never claim them because no one told them to look. We do the study. You get the credit.
Up to $500,000 in refundable R&D credits annually
Federal and California state R&D study included
AI-enabled software keeps costs lower than competitors
Audit-ready documentation - IRS-proof reports
Qualifying expenses include payroll, contractors, compute, and supplies
Coordinated with your federal income tax filing
No commitment. Free first call. We tell you if you qualify before you pay anything.
$100M+
in R&D credits claimed for clients
R&D Study
0.75%
of Qualified Research Expenses
You claim the credit. We take a small percentage of what qualifies.
Everything Included
✓ Federal R&D tax credit study
✓ California state R&D credit study
✓ Identification of all qualifying expenses
✓ Audit-ready documentation package
✓ AI-enabled expense tracking software
✓ Coordination with your income tax filing
✓ IRS support if your credit is questioned
We tell you if you qualify before you commit to anything.
The Basic
The R&D Tax Credit Is One of the Most Valuable - and Most Overlooked - Tax Benefits for Startups.
The federal R&D tax credit was created to reward companies that invest in innovation. If your startup is building software, developing technology, or conducting research to improve a product or process, the IRS considers that qualified research activity.
For startups that have not yet turned profitable, the credit is refundable - meaning the IRS pays it back to you directly, even if you owe no taxes. That is real cash back into your company, not just a deduction.
California has its own R&D credit on top of the federal one. Our study captures both at the same time, with no additional charge for the state credit.
Federal R&D Credit - Up to $500,00/year
California R&D Credit - 15% of Qualifying Expenses
You Must File on Time to Claim It
AI-Enabled Study - Lower Cost Than Competitors
Do you Qualify?
Most Riverside Tech Startups Qualify.
Here Is What the IRS Looks For.
You do not need to be a research lab. If your startup is building something new and paying people to do it, you likely qualify. The IRS uses a four-part test.
Technological in Nature
The activity must rely on hard sciences; engineering, computer science, biological science, or physical science. Building software, developing algorithms, or engineering a physical product all qualify. Writing marketing copy does not.
Permitted Purpose
The research must aim to improve the functionality, performance, reliability, or quality of a product or process. If you are building something better, faster, or cheaper using technical knowledge, you are likely covered
Elimination of Uncertainty
Your team must be trying to resolve technical uncertainty, meaning you did not know at the start whether or how you could achieve the result. Most software and product development inherently involves this.
Process of Experimentation
The work must involve a process of testing, evaluating alternatives, or iterating toward a solution. Agile development, sprint cycles, A/B testing, and prototype iteration all count as experimentation under IRS guidelines.
Riverside Industries That Commonly Qualify
Cleantech, healthtech, AI, agtech, IoT, SaaS, biotech, robotics, and hardware development. If your startup is in any of these sectors and has engineers or technical contractors on payroll, start a conversation with us.
Pre-Revenue Startups Qualify Too
You do not need revenue to claim the R&D credit. In fact, pre-revenue startups often benefit most because the federal credit is fully refundable; you get cash back directly, even with no taxable income to offset.
Not sure if you qualify? The first call is free - and we will tell you straight.
We do not take on studies we do not believe will produce a meaningful credit. If you do not qualify, we tell you in the first conversation at no charge.
What COunts
Qualifying Expenses - What the IRS Lets you Claim
These are the four categories of expenses that count toward your Qualified Research Expenses (QREs).
The more of these your startup has, the larger your potential credit.
Direct Employee Wages
Computer Rental and Cloud Costs
Contract Research Expenses
Research-Related Supplies
HOW IT WORKS
From First Call to Filed Return. Here Is What to Expect
CALIFORNIA-SPECIFIC
TRANSPARENT PRICING
You Only Pay When We Find a Credit Worth Claiming.
Our fee is 0.75% of your Qualified Research Expenses - not your credit amount. That means our incentive is to find every dollar of qualifying activity, not just enough to justify our fee.
For comparison, most large accounting firms charge 2% to 3% of QREs for the same study. Our AI-enabled process lets us do it at a fraction of the cost - without cutting corners on documentation quality.
If we do not find a meaningful credit opportunity, we tell you in the first call and walk away. No study fee, no obligation.
0.75%
of Qualified Research Expenses
Example: $1M in QREs = $7,500 study fee for a potential $65,000–$100,000+ credit
Common Questions
R&D Study Questions From Riverside Founders
We are a software startup. Do we really qualify for R&D credits?
Almost certainly yes. The IRS considers software development to be qualified research activity when it involves technical uncertainty and a process of experimentation. If your engineers are solving technical problems - architecture decisions, algorithm development, performance optimization - that counts. The bar is lower than most founders think.
We have not turned a profit yet. Can we still claim the credit?
Yes - and this is where the credit is most powerful for startups. Pre-revenue companies can claim the federal R&D credit as a refundable payroll tax offset of up to $500,000 per year. That means the IRS sends you cash back against your employer payroll taxes - even with zero taxable income. You do not need to be profitable to benefit.
What is the difference between the federal and California R&D credits?
The federal credit is worth up to $500,000 annually and is refundable for qualifying startups - meaning you get cash back even with no tax liability. The California credit is 15% of qualifying expenses above a base amount and is not refundable, but it carries forward indefinitely and offsets future California tax liability. Our study captures both at the same time.
How long does the R&D study take?
Typically 3 to 6 weeks from the time we have access to your payroll records, contractor agreements, and technical team for interviews. We time the study to coordinate with your income tax filing deadline so both are filed together. Starting early - ideally in Q1 - gives us the most time to do it thoroughly.
What happens if the IRS audits our R&D credit?
Our study is built to be audit-ready from day one. Every qualifying expense is documented with the technical narrative, employee time allocations, and supporting records the IRS requires. If the IRS questions your credit, we support the defense as part of the engagement. We do not produce studies we cannot stand behind.
Can we claim R&D credits for prior years we already filed?
Yes. You can amend prior year returns to claim R&D credits you missed - typically going back up to 3 years. If your startup has been operating for a few years without claiming the credit, we can conduct a lookback study to recover those credits. This is one of the most common situations we handle for Riverside founders switching from a legacy local CPA.
Find Out What You've Been Missing
Most Riverside Startups Qualify.
Find Out in One Free Call.
We will review your startup's activities and tell you straight whether you qualify and what your credit could look like. No commitment, no study fee until we find something worth claiming.
Free qualification call. No obligation. We serve Riverside startups from pre-revenue through Series C.