Guides
What software work qualifies as R&D
The IRS uses a four-part test. Most feature work passes it. Here's the plain English version.
by Claimship ·
Founders assume R&D means lab coats or machine learning research. The bar is lower than that. If your team builds software and the outcome wasn't guaranteed, a lot of that work qualifies.
The four-part test
- Qualified purpose. The work creates or improves a product, process, or piece of software.
- Technological in nature. It relies on engineering or computer science, not marketing or aesthetics.
- Elimination of uncertainty. You didn't know if the approach would work when you started.
- Process of experimentation. Your team tried approaches, tested them, and iterated.
What usually passes
- New feature development.
- Architecture and infrastructure work.
- Performance engineering and scaling work.
- Prototypes and technical spikes, including the ones that failed.
Failed experiments count. The test is about uncertainty, not success.
What doesn't
- Routine maintenance and bug triage.
- Dependency bumps and config changes.
- Visual polish with no technical uncertainty.
- Work performed outside the US.
A defensible study excludes this work. Overclaiming is what gets studies rejected in audits.
Claimship classifies every PR, ticket, and thread against the test, and you review the edge cases. The clean split is what makes your number stand up.
