New or improved products, prototypes, tooling; yield, durability & cost gains; CAD, robotics, CNC, process redesign.
Estimate your credit →Manufacturers frequently qualify through product and process development that never reaches a research lab. Designing a new or improved product, building and testing prototypes, developing custom tooling, and redesigning a production process to improve yield, durability, or cost all involve technical uncertainty resolved through experimentation.
Process improvement is often the largest overlooked bucket — CAD iteration, robotics and CNC programming, and trial production runs to dial in tolerances commonly qualify.
Wages for time these roles spend on qualified research may count toward your credit.
Illustrative example using sample figures. Your actual credit depends on your facts; see Form 6765 and consult a tax professional.
The IRS requires qualifying research to satisfy four tests. Here's how each typically maps in this industry:
The activity aims at improving product durability and manufacturing yield.
The work grounded in mechanical and materials engineering.
Unknown whether a tooling change will hold tolerances at volume.
Teams use prototype iterations and trial production runs.
Find out how much your Manufacturing company could claim — at no cost, no commitment.
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