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Claiming R&D Credits via Payroll

How to submit R&D credits request through Warp

Nicole Chinuntdet avatar
Written by Nicole Chinuntdet
Updated yesterday

The Research and Development (R&D) tax credit allows eligible businesses to offset federal payroll taxes using qualified research expenditures.

How it works

Credit Amount: You can claim up to $250,000 in R&D credits per year against your payroll taxes, which is particularly beneficial for startups and small businesses.

What Can Be Offset: R&D credits directly reduce your:

  • Federal payroll taxes (employer portion of Social Security taxes)

  • Federal unemployment taxes (FUTA)

Qualified Activities: Credits apply to expenses related to developing new products, processes, or software, including employee wages, contractor costs, and supply expenses for research activities.

Carryforward: Unused credits can be carried forward for up to 20 years, so you won't lose the benefit if you can't use the full amount immediately.

How do I receive my R&D credits?

Warp's Role: Warp automatically submits your R&D credits form (Form 8974) to the IRS as part of your quarterly payroll tax filings. This ensures your credits are properly claimed without additional paperwork on your end.

💸 IRS Credits by Check

After Warp files your R&D credit claim, the IRS processes it and sends you a refund check by mail at the end of each quarter where the credits apply.

IRS will send this Check to your official business legal address on file.

Timeline: Expect to receive your R&D credit refund check within 4-8 weeks after the end of the applicable quarter, similar to other IRS refund processing times.

What You Need to Do: Simply ensure your R&D expenses are properly tracked and documented. Warp handles the filing process, and you'll receive the credit directly from the IRS by check.

Submit R&D Credit Request in Warp

There's two options to complete this action

For R&D Credit claims, we would need the following documentations/information:

Option 1 (Preferred)
Both following forms must be submitted to [email protected]

  • Form 6765 - the annual Federal R&D tax credit application, which is prepared & filed by the company’s CPA/tax accountant

  • Form 8974 - also prepared by the company/company’s CPA/tax accountant


Option 2

If company is unable to provide the forms in Option 1, please provide the information below to [email protected]

  • Income Tax Return Form that included Form 6765. In general, this is Form 1120, but may differ based on the business’ corporate structure

  • Period End Date of the corporate income tax period

    • This is the corporate income tax period for which the Income Tax Return is being filed. This will match the last day of the business’ tax year (exp: 12/31/2023 would mean this is an Federal R&D tax credit for the 2023 tax year of the business.)

  • Date Income Tax Return was Filed

    • This is the date your CPA/tax accountant filed your Income Tax Return for the applicable corporate income tax period

  • Annual Federal R&D Tax Credit Amount

    • This is the total amount of credit the company/Warp will be able to request for the applicable corporate income tax period

  • Previously Used Credit Amount

    • This is the credit amount previously requested by the company/CPA/tax accountant outside of Warp's service period. In general, this will be $0.00, unless the company has used another payroll service provider/CPA/tax accountant in the past to partially request the tax credit in question

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