Sycamore Growth Group
Specializing in securing research and development tax credits that maximize cash flow and minimize risk
Since 2011
-
174 Consulting and R&D Tax Credits & OBBBA 174 Fix
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) provides long-awaited relief from the burdens of Section 174. Qualifying small businesses can now retroactively deduct R&D expenses for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Businesses may also accelerate any remaining amortized R&D costs over one or two years to improve cash flow. These changes make claiming R&D tax credits more advantageous than ever, especially for businesses that hesitated before due to the old amortization rules.
Since 2011, Sycamore has helped clients confidently navigate the R&D tax credit process and Section 174 compliance. Whether you're looking to amend returns, analyze eligibility, recapture amortization, or strengthen audit documentation, our team is here to support your strategy. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your business's research expenses in light of the OBBBA and recent Section 174 updates."
Looking at the R&D tax credit services page, I think it still looks good! The only thing we should edit is the paragraph that says, "Many businesses that conduct R&D are concerned about the changes to IRS Section 174...." Here is a draft of updated language we could replace that paragraph with:
"Many businesses that conduct R&D were previously impacted by Section 174 amortization requirements. However, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), domestic R&D expenses are no longer subject to mandatory amortization starting in 2025. Qualified small businesses may also amend prior-year returns (2022-2024) to claim immediate deductions for previously amortized R&D costs.
Importantly, this change makes claiming R&D tax credits more straightforward and more valuable because expenses can be deducted fully and promptly, improving tax benefit timing and audit defensibility. Additionally, R&D expenses historically recorded as cost of goods sold (COGS) generally do not need to be reclassified, as prior tax law provided flexibility on classification via a "may" clause."
-
ERC Tax Controversy Resolution Services
At Sycamore, we specialize in supporting taxpayers who have been unfairly denied Employee Retention Credits (ERC). Many businesses find themselves targeted by the IRS after using ERC providers who have fallen under scrutiny. This often leads to blanket denials for all claims processed by these providers, leaving rightful claims unacknowledged. We have services to help resolve matters.
Our Mission
Client success is our mission. Nothing makes us happier than helping clients achieve their goals, and we never quit until that happens. We conduct our work efficiently and unobtrusively because we understand that our clients are busy.
We value and practice honesty, respect, clear communication, and hard work.
Manufacturing Case Study
Challenge: A custom-machine manufacturer struggled to track R&D expenses and lacked expertise in identifying IRS-compliant projects.
Our Solution: Sycamore Growth Group evaluated hundreds of projects, delivering a 25,000-page Digital Audit Library with R&D write-ups for each claim.
Results: We validated $1.94 million in tax credits under IRS exam, surpassing the client's previous successful claim of $375K. Industrial strength safety ensured the credits stood strong during the audit.
From a Client:
“We wanted industrial strength safety, so we chose Sycamore because they had a large team of technical writers who could prepare reports on each of our projects we claimed. We appreciated their deep expertise in understanding engineering documentation and that they were able to qualify, with certainty, which of our customer jobs were indeed R&D as defined by the IRS. We were able to recover a significant amount of credits that would otherwise have been lost. We were not surprised when the credits survived an IRS audit. We knew we were underutilizing the credit; we had no idea by how much.”