Frequently asked questions.

The basics

Who files my return?

Your existing CPA. R&D Binder operates as a doc-only documentation service per Treasury Circular 230 Section 10.7. We never prepare or sign the return; your CPA files Form 6765 with the binder as the supporting workpaper. They retain preparer responsibility under Circular 230.

What if my CPA does not have R&D credit experience?

That is the typical case for our target customer (US Software as a Service company, $1M to $20M Annual Recurring Revenue, working with a generalist CPA). The binder is structured so the four-part-test analysis, QRE allocation, and Form 6765 Section G fields are pre-filled and CPA-reviewable. If your CPA still wants help, we can recommend a small panel of generalist CPAs comfortable filing Form 6765 with our binder. Their engagement letter is between you and them.

What about the OBBBA Section 174 / 174A change?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, signed 2025-07-04) repealed Section 174 capitalization for domestic R&D for tax years beginning after 2024-12-31. Section 41 (the actual credit) is unchanged. Small businesses with $31M average annual gross receipts and under may also retroactively elect Section 174A expensing for tax years 2022 to 2024 by the earlier of 2026-07-06 or the statute of limitations. We document Section 41 compliance regardless of which path you take on Section 174A. See the 2022-2024 amended-returns guide for the full window and both routes.

What about the new Form 6765 Section G?

Section G is mandatory starting tax year 2026 (processing year 2027) for non-exempt filers. It requires per-business-component reporting: name, type, description, information sought to be discovered, plus QRE breakdown. That is exactly what the binder produces. Qualified Small Businesses (under $5M in gross receipts and less than 5 years of gross-receipts history) electing the Section 41(h) payroll-tax offset are exempt from Section G; we still build the Section G map so you have it on file.

What does the binder include?

A PDF binder (plus accompanying workpaper) covering: per-business-component narrative, four-part-test scoring with cited evidence (commit SHAs, PR numbers), QRE workpaper (wages, supplies, computer rental, contract research at the 65 percent applied amount), audit-defense flag review, and Form 6765 Section G field mapping. SHAs are preserved for any IRS examination.

What is your liability scope?

Documentation only. The customer's CPA-of-record files the return and signs Form 6765. We carry Errors and Omissions insurance for our documentation work, scoped to the binder's narrative accuracy. We do not advise on the return position itself.

Methodology and credit math

ASC versus Regular Credit method, which one will my binder use?

We document QREs in a method-agnostic format. Your CPA elects either the Alternative Simplified Credit (ASC) under Section 41(c)(5) or the Regular Credit under Section 41(a). Most software companies elect ASC because it does not require pre-1990s research-spending records and the math is cleaner. The binder works for either election; the QRE workpaper and Section G appendix are the same regardless.

What about state R&D credits like California's?

California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and 30+ other states have their own R&D credits that layer on top of federal Section 41. State QRE definitions differ slightly (California's definition tracks federal closely; some states have entirely separate qualifying-activity rules). We offer state-credit add-on workpapers at $995 per state, scoped separately as add-ons to the federal binder. Most multi-state SaaS customers add California first.

What about Internal Use Software (IUS)?

Software developed primarily for the customer's own internal use is subject to the Section 41(d)(4)(E) high-threshold-of-innovation test (technological advancement, economic risk, and not commercially available). The binder explicitly evaluates each business component for IUS classification. Most customer-facing Software as a Service products are not IUS; back-office automation, internal tools, and ERP customizations often are. We document the call either way and disclose the test results in the audit-defense flag review.

Are contractors and offshore engineers included in QRE?

US-resident contractors qualify at 65 percent of fee paid (the Section 41(b)(3) applied amount). Foreign-resident contractors and offshore activity do not qualify under Section 41 (per the Treas. Reg. 1.41-4(c)(7) US-source rule) and are excluded from QRE. The binder cross-references your contractor invoices, 1099 records, and engineering-org chart to enforce this allocation. Open-source community contributors outside your payroll are also excluded.

Can you do retroactive amended returns for prior years?

Yes, for tax years still open under the statute of limitations (typically 3 years from the original filing or 2 years from tax payment, whichever is later). Small businesses under $31M average annual gross receipts have an OBBBA-specific window for tax years 2022 to 2024 amendments, with the deadline the earlier of 2026-07-06 or the statute of limitations. Retroactive engagements price at the same tier as a current-year binder. Full details: the 2022-2024 amended-returns guide.

Do you support multiple corporate entities or consolidated groups?

Yes. Multi-entity engagements scope at the Scale tier ($9,495) or as a custom-scope conversation depending on complexity. Section 41(f)(1) controlled-group aggregation rules require the binder to allocate QREs across entities consistently with the tax-return filing structure (consolidated 1120 versus separate 1120 versus pass-through with K-1 allocation). Talk to us if your structure is unusual.

Audit, security, payment, and data

What if the IRS audits the return?

The binder is structured per Internal Revenue Manual 4.51.2 (the IRS research credit examination handbook) and IRS Notice 2023-63 (contemporaneous-documentation expectation). Every claim cites a primary source the customer or their CPA can verify independently. If the IRS opens an Information Document Request, we engage on a separate hourly scope at $250 per hour to assist your CPA or tax counsel with binder-specific factual questions. The audit response itself is owned by your CPA or counsel, not us. We carry Errors and Omissions insurance scoped to the binder's narrative accuracy.

How secure is my code and data?

GitHub access is read-only OAuth, scoped to commit metadata and pull-request titles. Source code file contents are not pulled by default; if you opt in for design-doc reads, scope is limited to README, ARCHITECTURE, and ADR files. Customer-supplied financial documents (payroll register, contractor invoices, supplies and cloud-compute summaries) are encrypted at rest in Cloudflare R2 (US region) and retained for 7 years per IRS substantiation requirement, then deleted. Aliso LLC carries cyber-liability insurance. Full data-handling disclosure including sub-processors, retention policy, and incident response is on the /security page.

When do I pay, and how do refunds work?

Pay in full via Stripe Checkout at order time. Single charge, no subscription, no recurring billing. Refunds are limited to one scenario: if, after payment, we determine your submitted inputs cannot produce a binder meeting our quality standards, we refund the engagement fee in full. We do not refund based on the credit your CPA chooses to claim, the return position your CPA takes, post-delivery dissatisfaction with binder content, or change of mind. There is no monthly subscription; the binder is an annual fixed-scope product.

What happens to my data after the engagement?

Your binder PDF and workpaper stay with you and your CPA forever. We retain a copy plus the underlying inputs (commit ingest, payroll register, contractor invoices) for 7 years (the IRS statute of limitations period for a research credit claim plus a small buffer) so we can support your CPA if the return is examined within that window. After 7 years, all customer data is deleted from our systems. If you want earlier deletion, the contact form has a deletion-request option.

What if my CPA disagrees with something in the binder?

We schedule a CPA-direct call to walk through the disagreement. If your CPA wants a more conservative position (smaller QRE, fewer business components, lower applied percentages on contract research), we adjust the binder to match. The binder reflects the position your CPA is willing to file; we document, they file. There is no premium for revisions; reasonable scope-aligned changes are included. Out-of-scope additions (new business components added after scope lock) are scope-change fees.

I am a CPA. How do I refer a client?

Three steps: (1) send your client to /estimate to size the credit; (2) tell them to pick the tier that matches their engineering FTE count on /pricing; (3) ask them to put your name and firm on the CPA contact field on the post-payment intake form. We deliver the final binder, QRE workpaper, and Section G appendix to you and the client at delivery time. No paperwork between us. No fee splits. See the /cpas page for the full referral and white-label-in-development workflow.

Where exactly does my data live?

Two Cloudflare R2 buckets, both US-region, both encrypted at rest with AES-256 server-side encryption. rdbinder-orders holds order and intake metadata as JSON. rdbinder-customer-files holds your uploaded payroll register, contractor invoices, and optional cloud-spend export under a per-customer prefix. We never transit financial files through email, never train AI models on your data, and never sell or share with third parties. Full architecture on the /security page.

Still have questions

Two paths.