Most businesses that qualify for the R&D tax credit have never claimed it — often because they assume “R&D” means white lab coats and billion-dollar budgets. It doesn’t. If your team solves technical problems, tests approaches, or builds things where the outcome wasn’t certain when they started, there’s a real chance you qualify.
This quiz takes 60 seconds. Answer six questions about your business, and we’ll tell you whether you’re likely a strong candidate, a possible candidate, or whether the credit probably isn’t a fit. No email required to see your results — but if you want a detailed assessment from our team, you can request one at the end.
What This Quiz Measures
The R&D tax credit under IRC §41 is available to businesses of all sizes across dozens of industries — not just companies with formal R&D departments. This quiz evaluates your business against the key indicators of eligibility based on the IRS four-part test:
Technical Uncertainty
Does your team face problems where the solution isn’t already known? If the outcome was uncertain when work began, that’s the first indicator of qualifying research.
Process of Experimentation
Does your team test, iterate, and evaluate alternatives? Prototyping, benchmarking, simulation, trial runs, and systematic testing all count as experimentation.
Technological in Nature
Is the work grounded in engineering, computer science, or physical/biological sciences? It doesn’t need to be cutting-edge — applying existing science to solve your specific problem counts.
Qualified Purpose
Is the research aimed at developing or improving a product, process, software, technique, or formula? The purpose must be functional — not purely aesthetic or market-driven.
What Happens After the Quiz?
If you request a personalized assessment, here’s what our process looks like:
| 1 | We review your quiz answers and research your business to understand your activities, industry, and approximate credit potential. |
| 2 | We schedule a brief call (15-20 minutes) to ask a few targeted questions about your technical activities, team structure, and prior tax credit history. |
| 3 | We give you a straight answer — whether you qualify, an estimated credit range, and whether a full study makes economic sense. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you. No hard sell, no obligation. |
The entire evaluation is free. We do this because most businesses that qualify have never claimed — and a 15-minute conversation is all it takes to find out.
Learn more about R&D tax credits →
Understand the IRS four-part test →
California businesses: see the state credit →
Martin Gamez
Founder, Tax Formulations
Martin is a tax credit specialist with over 25 years of experience in federal and state R&D tax credits, cost segregation, and business tax incentives. His background includes tenure at Big Four and Top 10 accounting firms, with clients spanning technology, manufacturing, aerospace, engineering, construction, food and beverage, and life sciences. Read full bio →