We are encouraged to become entrepreneurs and start companies, but the risk that comes with it is what holds many of us back. The global startup economy is worth over $3 trillion; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to that momentum.
To aid the crisis, Congress passed the CARES Act to provide much needed stimulus funds to startups and small businesses under programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
However, another key program, particularly of help to technology startups, is the R&D Tax Credit program. Launched in 1981, this program is often overlooked by many companies either because they are unaware of its existence or unsure if they would qualify.
The program enables startups with less than $5 million in gross receipts in the tax year and less than 5 years of gross receipts from the tax year to offset up to $250,000 per year in employer social security taxes. This typically comes in the form of a refund check from the IRS.
This refund can help startups sustain jobs and continue to innovate; however, the application process is manual and cumbersome because they need to identify all the projects they worked on during the tax year and have documentation in place to prove that the projects and associated expenses qualify per the tax law.
Boast.AI is helping businesses get R&D tax credits without the cumbersome process. Boast leverages its proprietary R&D Tax Credit software platform and in-house R&D Tax experts to help identify qualifying projects, prepare the technical and financial reports along with the R&D tax forms, and handle all communications with the government. Boast only charges its fee once the funds are received by the company from the government, thereby enabling businesses to get funding without risk and impact to their internal resources.
The Research and Development tax credit program is one of the most beneficial programs for startups to fund their innovative ideas and sustain jobs. Alex Popa and Lloyed Lobo are the entrepreneurs who founded Boast.AI to help startups streamline the R&D Tax Credit application process. Today, Boast.AI has grown to hundreds of customers with offices in San Francisco, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.
