Which tax incentives apply to your business?

The R&D tax credit applies to companies across virtually every industry that perform qualifying research activities. Eligibility is determined by a four-part test, not by industry classification. If your team has spent time solving technical problems, improving a product or process, developing new software, or testing approaches that did not always work on the first try, there is a reasonable chance qualifying activities exist. A free feasibility assessment takes 30 minutes and costs nothing to determine.

Manufacturing, technology and software, life sciences and biotech, energy, agriculture, architecture and engineering, defense, financial services, healthcare, and chemical and materials companies are among the most common. However, the credit is activity-based, not industry-based. Companies in nearly any sector can qualify if the specific work performed meets the four-part test under IRC Section 41.

No. The credit applies to qualifying research activities regardless of how a company is organized. Engineers, agronomists, software developers, food scientists, and clinicians all perform qualifying work without holding an "R&D" job title. The question is what the work involves, not what the department is called.

The 179D deduction rewards commercial building owners who install qualifying energy-efficient HVAC, lighting, or building envelope systems. Architects and MEP engineers who design these systems for government-owned or tax-exempt buildings can receive a designer allocation even without owning the building. The deduction applies to new construction, renovations, and qualifying improvements placed in service during the tax year.

Yes, and this is most common among architecture and MEP engineering firms. R&D credits apply to the design process when it involves technical uncertainty. 179D designer allocations apply when the firm designs qualifying systems for a government or tax-exempt building owner. These are two separate incentives under different IRC sections and can be claimed simultaneously on the same project.

Cost Segregation is an engineering study that identifies personal property and land improvement components within a commercial building. These components depreciate on 5, 7, or 15-year schedules rather than the standard 39-year schedule for commercial real estate. Front-loading depreciation deductions reduces taxable income in the near term and improves cash flow. It applies to newly constructed, acquired, or renovated commercial and investment real estate.

179D should be completed before Cost Segregation when both apply to the same property. 179D reduces the building's depreciable basis. Cost Segregation then reclassifies the remaining basis into shorter-life components. Doing Cost Segregation first and 179D second can reduce the total combined benefit and may require rework on the Cost Seg study.

A free feasibility assessment with aecre takes approximately 30 minutes. No documentation is needed upfront. The assessment covers your industry, the activities your team performs, your tax situation, and which incentives are most likely to apply. There is no obligation to proceed.