Are R&D Tax Credits Available in New York?

Yes. The state of New York provides the Excelsior Jobs Program which offers several refundable credits including the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. Below is a summary of New York's Excelsior Research and Development Tax Credit:

  • Taxpayers can claim up to 50% of their federal R&D credit that relate to R&D expenditures in New York State.
  • The credit is capped at 6% of qualified research expenditures (QREs) conducted in the state or 8% for qualified green projects
  • The definition of QREs is the same as the federal section 41 definition, except that costs must be incurred in New York to qualify for the New York research credit.
  • The credit can only be claimed if the business has received a certificate of tax credit from the Empire State Development (ESD), which involves submitting a performance report demonstrating it satisfies eligibility requirements.
  • Excess R&D Tax Credit is refundable and credit may only be claimed by eligible businesses over a 10-year period once they receive the certificate.
  • Credit could be claimed on a timely filed return only. Consolidated Funding Application must be submitted to the appropriate local ESD (Empire State Development) regional office and the R&D Credit can be claimed upon issuance of the approval certificate.
  • Taxpayers who are not eligible, or choose not to participate in the Excelsior Jobs Program, may be eligible to participate in the Life Sciences Research and Development Tax Credit Program.
  • Taxpayers in certain fields and industries, including medical or veterinary laboratory testing facilities, are not eligible to claim the research credit.

New York R&D Tax Credit Case Study

A pharmaceutical company in New York had never before claimed the R&D credit. This project involved a multiyear study covering the years 2017 thru 2020.

The Company qualified for the federal R&D Tax Credit of $361,666 and an additional $42,000 of state R&D Tax Credit in New York.

FEDERAL
NEW YORK
Year
Total QREs
Credit
Total QREs
Credit
2020
$1,400,000
$141,166
$1,400,000
$42,000
2019
1,000,000
98,000
NA
NA
2018
750,000
73,500
NA
NA
2017
500,000
49,000
NA
NA
Total $3,650,000 $361,666 $1,400,000 $42,000

You can read more about this New York tax credit case study here.

Four-Part Test

Qualified research activities are defined by the four-part test outlined below

Technological in Nature
Activities must fundamentally rely on the principles of physical or biological science, engineering, or computer science.

Permitted Purpose
Activities must be performed in an attempt to improve the functionality, performance, reliability, or quality of a new or existing business component.

Eliminate Uncertainty
Activities intended to discover information that could eliminate technical uncertainty concerning the development or improvement of a product.

Experimentation
All activities must include a process of experimentation including testing, modeling, simulating, and systematic trial and error.