Evidence

R&D tax audit checklist: the evidence examiners ask for

Every examiner question expects a kind of record. This checklist indexes the eleven upload categories, maps each to the federal and state questions it supports, and links a short guide for each area.

Evidence guidePayroll and wage evidenceHow W-2 wages, individuals, business components and claimed wage QREs connect, and where reconciliation gaps appear.Read
Evidence guideTime allocation and job descriptionsRecords that support how each employee's time was split between qualified services and other work, and the limits of estimates made later.Read
Evidence guideProject and business-component evidenceThe technical records that show the four-part test for each business component, and why their dates matter.Read
Evidence guideSupplies and contract researchInvoices, usage records and signed contracts: what supports a supply claim and a contract research claim.Read
Evidence guideCalculations and reconciliationHow Form 6765, the calculation workbook, base-period records and group allocations should connect to the source records.Read
Evidence guideClaim forms and filing recordsThe forms and filing evidence a mock audit asks for: Form 6765, refund-claim information, state forms and any pre-approvals that apply.Read
Evidence guideResearch location and state apportionmentRecords that place research activity and staff in the United States and in each state claimed.Read

The eleven categories and the questions they support

Category	Supports
Payroll and wage records	F4, F5, S1, S2
Time tracking	F4
Project documents and plans	F1, F2
Engineering tickets and commits	F2, F3, F6
Technical specifications	F1
Test logs and results	F3, F6
Contracts and SOWs	F8
Supply invoices	F7
Employee work locations	S1, S2
Entity and ownership records	S5
Prior-year returns	F9, S4, S6

A note on what uploading proves

Note.Uploading a record shows it exists. It does not create time records that were never kept, and the mock audit does not keep them for you. Where a record is missing, the guides say what can and cannot be done later.

General in nature, not tax advice.

Find out what your research actually qualifies for

A scoping conversation takes thirty minutes and costs nothing. You leave with a view on eligibility, likely credit range and the documentation you would need.

Free R&D mock audit: completely free. Book a call or email hello@creditarmor.ai for a login.

Book a scoping call Run the eligibility checker