Do you want a hot TIP?… At Engineered Tax Services (ETS), our core services over the past 22 years have included cost segregation, research and development tax credits, 179D energy tax deductions, 45L energy tax credits, purchase valuation studies and more.
We now aim to highlight a new, unique, comprehensive and proactive approach to client relationships. This exciting new strategy is designed to maximize and uncover all available federal, state, local, renewable energy and even industry-specific opportunities.
These opportunities include the various federal stimulus plans regarding the pandemic, inflation reduction, infrastructure, technology, etc. Additional opportunities are presented by state and local tax (SALT) government cash grants, employee payroll tax credits, state-level business and job credits, and even cash grants that are so often missed before they expire.
In this article, we will outline a five-step Tax Incentives Playbook (TIP) approach to delivering these federal, state and local government grant strategies for clients to strengthen their businesses, maximize tax mitigation, generate income and preserve wealth.
5 Steps of the Tax Incentives Playbook
Step 1: Identify Target Opportunities
First, using our AI-driven database and human-intelligence-driven team of specialists with thousands of available programs nationally, weprepare a complementary, comprehensive strategy for clients, identifying all potential federal grants, state/local funding opportunities, business development programs, real estate tax strategies, technological development projects and energy efficiency incentives they may be eligible for.
Step 2: Run Strategic Benefit Analysis
Next, we prepare a Strategic Benefit Analysis and Investives Opportunity Playbook identifying areas of a client’s business where they are planning to develop or expand. We then align these areas of business to relevant potential tax incentive and grant programs according to the client’s planned projects and initiatives.
Step 3: Deliver Playbook Recommendations
We deliver strategic Incentives Playbook recommendations to clients based on the identified opportunities so they can achieve the maximum amount of tax benefits, incentives, retroactive refunds, rebates or cash grant funding. After clients review our playbook recommendations and select which programs they would like to proceed with, we collect all relevant information and prepare the grant application(s) and next steps.
Step 4: Commence Action
Once clients review all prepared grant applications prior to final submission, we promptly submit them and handle any correspondence with the government regarding the applications.
Step 5: Review Progress and Updates
As the applications proceed, the client’s assigned ETS team specialist regularly provides feedback and status updates. As part of ETS’s value-added strategies, we also conduct ongoing program monitoring to ensure we are tracking all program updates and new opportunities.
Potential Funding Opportunities
ETS is committed to helping clients pursue their business and economic development goals by fostering:
- Business growth and innovation
- Facility modification and capital purchases
- Green technology and energy efficiency
- Research and development tax credits
- Hiring and training
Drilling down deeper into each of these six areas, let’s take a look at some potentially eligible projects to learn more about how ETS can support clients’ business development goals through our pursuit of money that is so often left on the table.
- Business Growth
Eligible projects can include:
- Participating in domestic or international trade shows, networking functions, meetings, or conferences (in person or virtually)
- Gathering market intelligence (custom research, reports and studies)
- Technology upgrades, security enhancements and search engine optimization
- Improving export growth, productivity, performance and competitiveness
- Facility Modifications and Capital Purchases
Eligible projects can include:
- Making real estate purchases, improvements and expansions
- Implementing facility capex modifications and process improvements
- Increasing production and distribution capacity
- Improving productivity and efficiency
- Introducing new technology and product innovations
- Retrofitting existing technologies to become more competitive
- Developing new or improved manufacturing machines and equipment
- Green Technology and Energy Efficiency
Eligible projects can include:
- Upgrading facilities to reduce energy consumption, which may include the following:
- Lighting retrofits, LED retrofits, systems and controls installation
- HVAC re-design and replacement
- Chiller replacement and installation of variable speed drives
- Roof upgrades and envelope thermal performance improvements
- The implementation of new operating procedures
- Low-carbon-emission projects and monitoring
- Solar power, battery backups, geothermal energy, microturbines and wind solutions
- Research and Development Tax Credits
Eligible projects can include:
- Conducting efforts to stimulate innovation, job growth and technical design
- Developing new products, processes or inventions
- Performing qualified research activities completed within the United States
- Adopting, adapting, developing, testing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven, new or improved products, processes, services or software (for internal team use and/or external customer sale or license)
- Hiring
Eligible hiring activities can include:
- Hiring senior candidates or candidates under the age of 30 for STEM positions
- Hiring candidates who have traditionally faced barriers to employment
- Hiring high school or university students for R&D projects and summertime work
- Hiring apprentices and military veterans
- Training
Eligible training activities can include:
- Training current and/or new employees and skills
- Training to support the adoption of new technologies, processes or procedures
- Training to enhance work-related skills and career development
Conclusion
The vast majority of taxpayers are initially unaware of these specialty tax incentives, federal grants, and research and development tax credits, as well as our comprehensive, proactive advisory approach. ETS demonstrates a unique value-added entrepreneurial strategy by drawing on a wealth of experience with engineering, specialty taxes and financial services to help uncover exciting possibilities. Our clients rely on us to help generate additional innovative income, enhance tax mitigation and maximize wealth preservation in ways they never imagined.
This new approach to integrated, comprehensive and proactive client service shines a spotlight on the substantial money clients might be leaving on the table. Moreover, our unique approach represents a viable way to expand and cement client loyalty while also winning new clients.
For further information please contact Michael D'Onofrio here.
