Draft a research-activity description against the qualified-research tests
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Draft the description from the activities the client states, and leave a blank beside each test in § 41(d). Do not state that the activity qualifies and do not compute a credit.
- What the lawyer must review
- 26 U.S.C. § 41(d): qualified research means research with respect to which expenditures are treated as domestic research or experimental expenditures under § 174A, which you open; undertaken to discover information that is technological in nature and whose application is intended to be useful in developing a new or improved business component; and substantially all of the activities of which are elements of a process of experimentation for a new or improved function, performance, or reliability or quality. Research related to style, taste, cosmetic, or seasonal design factors does not qualify for that purpose. The tests are applied separately to each business component, which is a product, process, computer software, technique, formula, or invention to be held for sale, lease, or license, or used in the taxpayer's trade or business. The term does not include the activities in paragraph (4). Those include research after commercial production has begun, adaptation of an existing business component to a particular customer's requirement, and duplication of an existing business component from examining it or from plans or publicly available information. Paragraph (4) continues. You read the rest before you treat an activity as outside the credit. You decide whether any test is met. Office of Professional Responsibility Issue 2026-19: verify facts before a return is filed. The description computes no credit.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUSCth
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes preparing preliminary structure or wording. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Check the current court or regulator requirements, prescribed form and attachments for the intended document and filing.
- Review operative clauses in the complete document, including definitions, cross-references, schedules and inconsistencies with the instructions.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.