For CPAs

R&D, 179D and Cost Segregation, Ready for the Return

Refer a client and keep the relationship. Every deliverable is ready for your firm to file from, and we stand behind our R&D and 179D studies if the IRS has questions.

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Licensed PE in 47 states and DCPartner-led, coast to coastOne business day to first contact
Who to refer

Clients worth a conversation

R&D credit

Clients who build or improve things

  • Engineers, developers, scientists or other technical staff on payroll
  • Designing or improving products, processes, software or formulas
  • Prototyping, testing, or working through technical uncertainty
179D

Building owners and designers

  • Owners of commercial buildings, or apartment buildings four or more stories above grade, with new or upgraded lighting, HVAC or envelope
  • Architects, engineers and design-build firms designing for government, tribal or tax-exempt owners
  • Construction that began by June 30, 2026, even if the building is placed in service later
Cost segregation

Clients who bought, built or renovated

  • A commercial or residential rental building bought, built or expanded
  • Renovations to a building the client owns
  • A building already in service that never had a study, where the catch-up comes without amending past returns

Not sure? Refer anyway.We'll tell you and your client what applies.

Industries we work in

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How a referral works

Four steps, and you're copied on all of them

  1. You refer

    Use the short form below or email us. It takes two minutes.

  2. We contact your client within one business day

    You're copied from the first message.

  3. You see the scope and timeline

    Before any work starts, so you can plan the return around it.

  4. You receive the deliverables

    Ready for the return, and our support continues after filing.

Nothing reaches your client's return without you.

What your client receives

Built so you can file from it

R&D credit

Form 6765 and the study behind it

Form 6765 completed, with Section G business component detail where required, technical narratives for each qualifying activity, the wage allocation method, and a study report that holds up if the credit is questioned.

179D

Certification, Form 7205, and Form 7220

Energy model results, the site inspection, the Professional Engineer's certification and Form 7205, plus the allocation letter on designer claims. When the increased deduction is claimed for meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, Form 7220 and its payroll and apprenticeship records come with it. It isn't needed when installation began before January 29, 2023.

Cost segregation

With 179D evaluated first

For buildings your clients own, 179D is evaluated first so the study starts from the right basis. Your client receives an engineering-based report with assets classified by recovery period and depreciation schedules ready for the return, including the catch-up for a building already in service.

Built to be defended, not to find the largest number

For the R&D and 179D work we prepare, studies are built to the evidence standard. If the IRS examines a credit or deduction, we support you through it, and a licensed Professional Engineer answers the technical questions.

Who you'll work with

Two partners on every engagement

Taylor Beamer, PE

Taylor Beamer, PE

Partner, Operations and Engineering
Licensed PE in 47 states and DC

Built and led two 179D practices, with hundreds of field inspections and thousands of 179D and R&D studies delivered. Builds the methodology and deliverables behind every aecre study.

Usually the person on the other end of a technical question.

[email protected]832-217-4469
Brandon Carroll

Brandon Carroll

Partner, Growth and Strategy
Over 20 years in business development

Six years at a major global tax incentive firm, then partner leading growth for an international firm's 179D practice. Nearly a decade educating companies and CPAs on R&D, energy efficiency and other incentives.

Usually your first conversation.

[email protected]857-997-4141
Timing for your calendar

The dates that shape the return

R&D credit

Original and amended returns

  • Current year. The credit goes on Form 6765 with the original return. A newer business with under $5,000,000 in gross receipts elects the payroll tax offset on that return, by its due date including extensions.
  • Earlier years. A refund claim is generally due within 3 years from when the return was filed or 2 years from when the tax was paid. The claim must identify every business component for each year.
  • Partnerships under the BBA. They file an administrative adjustment request instead, generally within 3 years. Partners take the change into account in a later year, not as a refund for the earlier one.
179D

Placed in service and the June 30, 2026 cutoff

  • Year claimed. The deduction is taken for the tax year the property is placed in service, by the owner or, for a government or tax-exempt building, by the allocated designer.
  • Allocation letters. For a government or tax-exempt building, the designer needs a written allocation signed by the owner and the designer, stating the property's cost, placed-in-service date and the amount allocated, before claiming the deduction. The designer claims for the placed-in-service year, amending it if needed, so the letter has to be in hand while that year is still open.
  • Construction cutoff. 179D doesn't apply to property whose construction begins after June 30, 2026. Work begun by then keeps its path, even if placed in service years later. The IRS hasn't yet said how the start of construction is measured for 179D.
  • Reference standard. Property placed in service in 2027 or 2028 is measured against ASHRAE 90.1-2019, and after 2028 against 90.1-2022. Construction begun before January 1, 2023 keeps 90.1-2007.
  • Missed years. An owner claims them through an automatic accounting method change in the current year. A designer amends the placed-in-service year, if it's still open.
Cost segregation

The year the catch-up is claimed

  • Building already in service. The missed depreciation is claimed through an automatic accounting method change filed with the timely filed return for the year of change, and taken in full that year. The client must own the building at the start of that year. No past returns are amended.
  • Placed in service last year. The study can instead go on an amended return or AAR for that year, if filed before the next year's return.
  • Bonus depreciation. 100% for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. Property acquired from September 28, 2017 through January 19, 2025 and placed in service in 2026 gets 20%. For a purchase, acquisition is generally the binding contract date, not the closing.
  • Renovations. The partial disposition election for removed components is due with the original return for the year they're removed, including extensions.

Timing at a glance. Each client's facts decide what applies.

What changed recently

We track the law so no date slips by

R&D credit
Closed July 6, 2026

Small business election to apply Section 174A to 2022 through 2024 closed

Smaller businesses could elect to deduct domestic research costs from 2022 through 2024 on amended returns, and make a late election to take a reduced R&D credit for those years.

Read the entry
179D
Closed June 30, 2026

179D construction start deadline passed

The 179D deduction is not allowed for property whose construction begins after June 30, 2026.

Read the entry
Cost segregation
In effect February 20, 2026

New 100% deduction for qualified production property

IRS Notice 2026-16 gives interim guidance on an elective deduction of 100% of the basis of nonresidential real property used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or refining.

Read the entry
Coming up November 12, 2026 First hemp definition change January 1, 2027 179D moves to ASHRAE 90.1-2019 See all updates
Tools you can use with clients

Start the conversation with a number

R&D credit

R&D Tax Credit Calculator

Federal credit by year, from payroll and activities.

Open the calculator
179D

179D Deduction Calculator

The deduction for each building, by placed-in-service year.

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Cost segregation

Cost Segregation Calculator

First-year depreciation with and without a study.

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All three services

Tax Law Updates

Dated changes and the dates coming up.

See the updates
R&D credit

State R&D Credit Lookup

What each state adds to the federal credit.

Look up a state
All three services

Glossary

Plain-language terms to share with clients.

Open the glossary
Guides to send clients

Plain-language reading your clients can trust

R&D credit

The R&D Tax Credit, Explained

What qualifies, what counts as a cost, and how the credit is claimed.

Read the guide
179D

The 179D Energy Deduction Guide

For building owners and for designers of government and tax-exempt buildings.

Read the guide
Cost segregation

The Cost Segregation Guide

How a study works, bonus depreciation, and the catch-up for buildings already in service.

Read the guide
R&D credit

11 industry guides

From dermatology and dental labs to HVAC design, breweries and millwork.

Browse the guides
Questions CPAs ask

Before you refer

Will you contact my client without me?

No. We reach out only after you refer, within one business day, and you're copied from the first message.

Will my client stay my client?

Yes. We don't prepare returns or provide accounting services. We do the study, and you file.

Who files?

You do. Everything arrives ready for the return you prepare.

What do you need from my client?

For the R&D credit: payroll, project records, and short interviews with the people who did the work. For 179D: drawings, specifications, and access to the building. We give you and your client the list before work starts.

How long does it take?

It depends on the incentive and how ready the records are. You see the timeline before work starts and can plan the return around it.

Can my client claim earlier years?

Often. The R&D credit can generally be claimed on amended returns for years still open. A cost segregation study can catch up depreciation missed on a building already in service, without amending past returns.

How does 179D work for designers?

For buildings owned by government and tax-exempt entities, the owner can allocate the deduction to the designer through a signed allocation letter. We prepare the study and the letter.

Who certifies 179D?

A licensed Professional Engineer certifies the energy savings and the inspection.

What if the IRS examines the credit or deduction?

For the R&D and 179D work we prepare, we support you through the examination and answer the technical questions.

Can my client try the numbers first?

Yes. The calculators give a first estimate, and the full study sets the figures.

Refer a client

We contact your client within one business day, with you copied.

Service

We use these details to contact your client and keep you copied. We do not sell or share them.

Prefer to talk first?

Book a call to talk about working together. You'll speak with a partner, not a sales team.

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