Frequently Asked Questions

Are R&D credits legitimate?

Yes! The R&D Credit Program was established by the U.S. government in 1981 (and made permanent with the PATH Act of 2015).

The R&D Credit Program encourages small businesses within the U.S. to keep technical talent domestic while simultaneously continuing to drive innovation. By strengthening businesses at home, we sharpen our competitive edge abroad. The goal is to incentivize American companies to design, develop and improve processes, products, procedures, techniques, and software –– as well as any activities that promote job growth. A majority of small businesses perform these activities, which means you most likely qualify for this credit program.

Does this apply to me?

Most likely! In fact, 98% of small businesses qualify to recover these credits. 

An overwhelming majority of small businesses are entitled to recover these credits, yet 19 out of 20 eligible business owners never apply because they either don’t know about them, or don’t think they qualify. We’re here to change that. Take our FREE 2-minute quiz to see if your small business has money waiting for it!

Is it safe and will I get audited?

Recovering your R&D credits is 100% safe and will NOT trigger an audit. 

The credits are put in place by State and Federal Governments with the expectation that they get claimed by the small businesses they are intended for. So claiming these Credits is 100% safe, and as all CPA’s with expertise in credit recovery will confirm, and will not increase your odds of an audit in any way.

If you think this all sounds too good to be true, let us assure you The R&D Credit Program is as legitimate as they come. Since it was created directly by the federal government and the IRS, recovering your credits doesn’t raise any red flags. More specifically: we use the ASC (Alternative Simplified Credit) method. This is a conservative approach to claiming your credits that stays well within the IRS safe harbor rules. In fact, after 16 years of specializing in small business credit recovery, 95% of our customers come back year after year as happy clients.

Our entire business model is to be as transparent and thorough as possible when it comes to helping small businesses like yours get what they’re entitled to. Want to learn more? Click here to schedule a call.

Why has my CPA not told me about this?

One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief a CPA can, will or should handle this.

No, we assure you your CPA is not dropping the ball. The reality is, CPAs deal with the basics of accounting, profit / loss and expenses –– the nuts and bolts of what they need to report to the IRS to keep your business running. The R&D Credit Program is an extremely niche form of credit recovery / forensic accounting that most CPAs aren’t trained in. That’s where we come in. For the last 16 years EnSo has worked hand-in-hand with CPAs to help recover small business cash credits from the government. We’re not here to replace your trusted CPA, rather, we want to work with them to help your business thrive.

This sounds too good to be true. Is it?

No. U.S. companies have been taking advantage of these credits for decades. With the recent changes (PATH ACT in 2015), more small-to-medium sized businesses are starting to claim these credits. But even with the increase in claims, less than 5% of companies that qualify for the R&D Tax Credit are taking the time to do so. For dental practices, this number is even smaller: only 2% take advantage of this program although we’ve found that 98% qualify.

Is this worth my time?

Absolutely. Since the changes in legislation and tax reform, the R&D Tax Credit remains one of the most valuable incentives offered by the U.S. government for businesses to remain competitive.

Why does the government offer the R&D Tax Credit?

To encourage companies within the U.S. to keep technical talent domestic while simultaneously continuing to drive innovation. This helps make your company competitive domestically and our country competitive globally. A win/win scenario for everyone.

I have a CPA, why haven’t I heard of this?

It’s a very specific and niche credit that CPA’s are typically not trained on. More than $16 billion in Federal tax credit benefits alone are given out annually and a very small percentage is recovered each year, and almost none of it is done by CPA’s. It’s very time-consuming, takes years of training, and is typically not something they are even familiar with.