The R&D Credit · Guide
What the research credit is, and why it exists
The Section 41 research credit is a permanent, dollar-for-dollar federal credit for increasing qualified research spending. Here is how it works, who claims it, and where taxpayers get it wrong.
By The Carryforward Desk · 7 min read · Read the guide →
Most filers land on the ASC. The methods, worked with real numbers, in How to calculate the R&D credit.
The Index
203 pieces · everything, in order- Cannabis and the research credit: why Section 280E blocks most claims
- Stock options and RSUs as qualified research expenses: the W-2 Box 1 rule
- AI companies and the research credit: models, training compute, and proving uncertainty
- Section 41(f)(3): how buying or selling a business resets research credit base amounts
Courses
Guided tracks · all 6 →State Credits · Brief
Refundable and transferable state R&D credits: where the credit becomes cash
A minority of states pay research credits in cash to companies with no tax liability — by refund, exchange, or sale. Which states, through which mechanisms, and what a 'refundable' credit is actually worth after the haircuts.
Cost Seg · Brief
Recapture planning before the sale
Cost segregation's exit bill: Section 1245 ordinary-income recapture on personal property, unrecaptured Section 1250 gain at 25% on the building, and how price allocation, installment notes, 1031 exchanges, and the basis step-up at death change the answer — including when simply holding wins.
The Docket · Brief
Leon Max v. Commissioner: fashion design and the style-and-taste exclusion
Leon Max, T.C. Memo 2021-37, denied research credits for a fashion designer's garment development process — the work was not technological in nature, and the uncertainties resolved were matters of style, taste, and cosmetics excluded by Section 41(d)(3)(B).