About Research & Development Tax Credits

Receive expedited access to R&D Tax Credits as soon as you are eligible to take them.

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What is the R&D Tax Credit?

The R&D tax credit rewards you for the work you do to develop or improve your product or process, business and or industry. It’s one of the largest annual tax credits available to U.S. companies and we’re enabling eligible businesses to access it faster than any other PEO.

TriNet recently acquired Clarus R+D, which has identified $235 million plus in tax credits since 2016. Their industry-leading solution enables you to take full advantage of the benefit.

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Who is eligible?

Early-stage companies with qualifying R&D activities are eligible to take the credit against payroll taxes if they have less than $5 million in gross receipts in the credit tax year and are within the first 5 years of having any gross receipts. Gross receipts include revenue and inbound renumeration. The credit can be only claimed against a company’s payroll tax liability for 5 years.

Once a company is no longer eligible to take the R&D tax credit against their payroll tax liability, they can continue to take credit as an offset to their federal income tax liability, with no maximum cap.

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Benefits of the credit

Access to liquidity is critical for small to medium-size businesses, and TriNet helps you receive the credits up to 9 months faster than you would otherwise, helping you grow, hire, and develop your business. We reduce the burden on your team by leveraging our industry leading software platform and the tax experience of our expert team to produce R&D studies designed to be defensible in the eyes of the IRS.

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TriNet provides you with:

  • Best-in-class technology. Clarus R+D’s software platform is designed to:
    • Simplify the process with direct assistance and guidance
    • Maximize credit value and produce compliant, defensible studies
    • Optimize studies to produce secure and compliant documentation
  • Support from experts. Each R&D tax credit study is supported by the Clarus Expert team, a combination of CPAs and tax professionals with over 25 years’ experience in the R&D credit.*

  • Expedited access. TriNet proactively applies qualified credits for you, which means obtaining the credit as much as 6 to 9 months sooner than when you file directly with the IRS.


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*This page is for educational purposes only. TriNet provides guidance and best practices to small and medium sized businesses. TriNet does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. The materials on this website and the products, advice, and opinions expressed herein may not apply to your company or tax scenario, so you should consult with your own tax advisor on how best to proceed. The ultimate approval and amount of credit is wholly within the control of the IRS.