Four-part test per business component
Every business component is tested against the four-part test (permitted purpose, technological in nature, elimination of uncertainty, process of experimentation) — documented with evidence, not assumption.
The most rigorous §41 study a CPA firm can deliver.
Blueprint assembles a documentation-complete, audit-ready R&D tax credit study — every business-component narrative, every QRE allocation, every exclusion check, and the full Form 6765 package — verified against IRC §41, Treas. Reg. 1.41, and finalized IRS instructions before a licensed CPA/EA releases it.
Every element of IRC §41 and Treas. Reg. 1.41Four-part test mapped per business componentQRE allocation by wage, supply, contract researchLicensed CPA/EA review on every study5-business-day SLA
Why studies fail
A single missing narrative or misallocated expense can trigger an IRS denial.
An R&D tax credit study is only as strong as its documentation. Miss a business-component narrative, misclassify a wage, skip an exclusion (funded research, IUS, §280C), or fail to map the four-part test — and the credit can be disallowed, clawed back, or trigger penalties.
Most firms run this by hand, from memory, once or twice a year. The regulations have not been read end-to-end since the last time it mattered. That is exactly where completeness gaps hide.
Blueprint exists to close that gap with a single, exhaustive standard applied identically to every study.
1 of 6
missing documentation elements is enough to jeopardize a credit
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the statute — subsection by subsection.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every study is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of IRC §41, Treas. Reg. 1.41, and finalized Form 6765 instructions. These are the provisions each study is held to.
QRE allocation by category
Qualified research expenses (wages, supplies, contract research) are allocated to each business component from payroll, GL, and contracts — reconciled to the penny.
Exclusion screening
Funded research, internal-use software, foreign research, and §280C election are screened and documented — any exclusion flagged with a clear rationale.
Project-level disclosure
Section E (business-component counts, officer-wage QREs) and Section G (itemized QREs by business component) are completed per finalized IRS instructions — mandatory for most filers in 2026.
Payroll-tax offset eligibility
For qualified small businesses, the §41(h) election and §3111(f) payroll-tax offset are computed and documented, with the $500K cap verified.
Amended-return readiness
For small-business §174A retroactivity elections (TY2022-2024), the study includes the amended-return packet and audit file, with the July 6, 2026 deadline flagged.
How a study is built
Intake to licensed reviewer release, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A licensed CPA/EA reviews every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Gap Scan
Upload the client's engineering artifacts, payroll, GL, and contracts. We return a free completeness read: which statutory elements and documentation you already have, and which are missing.
02
Evidence & data ingestion
As your authorized clerical agent, we ingest source documents (GitHub/Jira, time sheets, invoices, contracts) and build the business-component register and QRE ledger.
03
Grounded drafting
Technical narratives are drafted from validated data and the §41 rule pack into field-locked templates — no legal opinions, no invented facts.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
Four-part test mapping is verified per business component; QREs reconcile to source documents; exclusions are screened; Form 6765 sections are checked. Any failure blocks release.
05
Licensed reviewer release
A licensed CPA/EA reviews the exception queue and signs the study. High-value or complex studies route to a tax attorney review first.
06
Delivery
You receive the study: technical narratives, QRE allocation, Form 6765 draft, exclusion log, evidence index, and audit-ready file — ready for the CPA firm to sign and file.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Licensed reviewer released
No study ships without a CPA/EA signature.
5 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to released study.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard study library.
4
Document source types
Engineering artifacts, payroll, GL, contracts — every applicable file.
Why Blueprint
Built to be the most thorough option a CPA firm has.
Documentation-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every statutory element and documentation requirement accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a statutory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never give legal advice, and the licensed CPA/EA remains the signer of record.
Engagement
Flat fee, per released study. No contingency, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not a cut of any credit.
- A free Gap Scan before you commit — see exactly what is missing.
- One flat fee per released study; disclosed pass-through data ingestion costs.
- Optional fixed-fee attorney review for high-value or complex studies.
- Optional amended-return add-on for OBBBA retroactivity filings.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is Blueprint a law firm or CPA firm?
No. Blueprint provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm or CPA firm, does not provide legal or tax advice, and does not sign tax returns. A licensed CPA/EA reviews and signs each study as the practitioner of record.
Do you contact the taxpayer or file the return?
Never. Blueprint does not contact the taxpayer or file any tax return. The CPA firm remains the client-facing advisor and is responsible for filing the Form 6765 and any amended returns.
What makes a study 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the statute: the four-part test mapped per business component, QREs allocated and reconciled, exclusions screened, Form 6765 Sections E and G completed, and audit-file assembled. Deterministic gates enforce each one before release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is five business days from complete intake to a licensed reviewer-released study. The free Gap Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is still needed.
How are you priced?
A flat fee per released study, plus disclosed pass-through data ingestion costs. No contingency and no percentage of any credit amount.
See what's missing before it costs you a credit.
Start with a free Gap Scan. Send your client's engineering artifacts, payroll, and GL and we'll return a completeness read against every subsection of IRC §41.
Documentation-completeness service · not tax advice · the CPA firm signs every return.