The spirits industry is growing increasingly competitive, and is evolving to meet new consumer preferences for exotic flavors, botanicals, and responsibly-sourced ingredients. The industry is rooted in tradition, but is also innovating in terms of processes, product, and the implementation of new technology. Companies investing in research and development (R&D) to create or innovate can offset their tax liability by claiming the R&D Tax Credit.

Employee wages, raw materials and supplies, and third-party contractor costs associated with research and development activities are considered qualified research expenses (QREs). Companies can receive refunds of up to 22% of total QREs through federal and state tax credits, depending on the state in which your company or firm operates. 

Example activities that qualify:

• Improving or developing new fermentation or filtration processes
• Implementing robotics or automation to improve distillation efficiency or product quality
• Exploring secondary maturation techniques to enhance flavor (e.g. sherry or wine casks, stout beer barrels)
• Developing new or improved distillation processes
• Implementing novel recycling or waste management processes
• Producing and testing prototype batches, or optimizing methods to scale production
• Creating software to streamline production, distribution, or the on-site customer experience (tasting rooms)
  

Do you have these job titles on your payroll, or do you hire third-party contractors to do these jobs?

• C-Suite
• Chemists
• Distillers
• Distillery Supervisors
• Fermentation Specialists
• Microbiologists
• Process Improvement Experts
• QA / QC Personnel
• R&D Directors

Use our R&D Tax Calculator to estimate your potential benefit, and partner with Strike to claim your tax benefits with no up-front costs. Contact one of our experts today.