Winery (Vineyards) R&D Tax Credits

People have been making wine since ancient times. However, that’s not to say that the industry and processes have remained the same over the decades. Companies in the sector always strive to develop new harvesting, storage, fermentation, blending, and production processes. Furthermore, ancillary businesses involved in winemaking also support innovation with new fermentation solutions, fertilizers, and distillation methods.

However, many still don’t know that these and similar activities qualify for Wineries (Vineyards) research and development tax credit. In other words, you can use federal and state R&D tax credits and refunds to recoup some of your expenses. In fact, you can get a refund of up to 22% of your total QREs. That said, the exact amount depends on your company’s location because different states have different R&D tax programs.

Qualifying Costs and Activities

Every expense you make during research for third-party contractors, employee salaries, raw materials, and supplies is considered a QRE. You can also cover job titles like directors of winemaking and production, lab technicians, harvest enologists, winemakers, blenders, agronomists, viticulturists, consultants, and C-Suite. Furthermore, activities eligible for the R&D tax credit in the Wineries (Vineyards) industry include:

• Creating functionally-improved, novel wine cellars or fermentation tanks;

• Testing cutting-edge filtering methods;

• Developing and evaluating innovative wine formulations and blends to achieve new aroma and flavor profiles;

• Designing software to increase product and productivity tracking;

• Determining the best fertilizer and growing and harvesting conditions for new grape strains;

• Researching novel methods for bottling and corking.

Need Help Calculating your Tax Credit?

Reach out to our team of tax credit experts to calculate your R&D tax credit without upfront costs.

FAQs

What kind of companies can apply?

Wineries that conduct qualifying research activities.

What data do I need to calculate credit?

Claim period gross receipts.

What information do I need to provide?

• Payroll records

• Old tax returns

• General ledger expense details

• Project lists

• Contracts with customers or vendors

• Design documents

• Project notes

• Photographs of improvements to projects and processes

• Email communications

• Lab analysis results

• Variability analyses

• Test methods

• Acidity adjustment analyses

• Blend analyses

• Harvest records

• Tasting panel notes

• Tank fermentation

• Fermentation procedures

• Barrel fermentation.

Is credit carryforward an option?

Yes, up to twenty years.