The R&D tax credit can pay a startup that is losing money, through payroll taxes it already owes. Miss one box or one date and the cash waits, or never comes.
Most small business tax credits aren't hidden. They're missed, because every one of them runs on a clock. In this solo episode of The Tax Strategy Playbook, David Wiener, Mr. Cash Flow, opens a four-part series on the research and development tax credit with the question founders ask most: we don't make money yet, does any of this help us? It does. A qualified small business, one under $5 million in gross receipts and within its first five years of receipts, can elect to use up to $500,000 a year of R&D credit against the employer share of Social Security and Medicare. David walks through the three clocks that decide whether that money shows up and when, including how a filing date moved one startup's $90,000 by nine months.
Then the lens widens to the tax credits for businesses with employees: the SECURE 2.0 retirement plan credits, worth about $65,000 over five years for one 18-person company, the small employer health care credit, the paid family and medical leave credit that changed for 2026, and the credits that are gone for 2026 hires.
Built for the founder or CFO of a young company paying engineers, developers or designers and not yet profitable, the owner of an established business with 10, 20 or 50 employees who has never been walked through the credits that come with having them, and the tax professional who wants to know where the traps sit in the middle of extension season.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Small business tax credits: why they're missed, not hidden
03:50 Tax credit vs tax deduction: which one saves you more
05:53 What qualifies for the R&D tax credit (no lab required)
09:20 R&D tax credit for startups: using it against payroll taxes
10:37 Who qualifies for the R&D payroll tax offset: the $5 million and five-year tests
14:24 When does the R&D payroll credit start? The filing date that costs nine months
18:06 R&D tax credit example: a 12-person startup's $90,000, quarter by quarter
22:28 Retirement plan tax credits for small business: SECURE 2.0 and Form 8881
25:45 Small business health care tax credit and the paid family leave credit for 2026
29:33 Is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit gone? FAQ and the Playbook
Nothing in this episode is tax advice for your situation. Your facts are your facts, and they need a professional who knows them, so work with your own tax professional. Tax evasion is a crime, but tax avoidance is mandatory.
Your host: David Wiener, "Mr. Cash Flow"
https://davidhwiener.com
mailto:David.wiener@cashflowstrategies.us
770-224-8504x2
Schedule a conversation or free consultation at
https://calendly.com/david-wiener/initial-consultation
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