Furniture R&D Credit

The R&D Tax Credit is a powerful incentive designed specifically for the work furniture manufacturers do every day. It rewards the technical problem-solving inherent in engineering new products and production methods, turning your firm's innovation into a significant tax refund.

Eligibility doesn’t require inventing a new category of furniture. Instead, the credit rewards your process of systematic trial-and-error to arrive at a final product. If your team experimented with different materials, structural designs, or manufacturing processes to resolve technical uncertainty and meet specific durability, cost, or functional goals, you were likely performing qualifying R&D.

Qualifying activities are present throughout the entire product development process:

Materials & Formulation Development
This foundational stage involves creating and testing the core materials for the products.

Experimenting with new, sustainable, or composite materials (e.g., recycled plastics, new wood-polymer composites, or bio-based foams) and testing their durability.
Developing and testing new formulations for finishes, stains, or adhesives to improve scratch resistance, reduce VOCs, or meet new environmental standards.
Prototyping furniture using unconventional materials (e.g., molded concrete, carbon fiber) and testing their structural integrity and manufacturability.

Product & Structural Engineering
This phase focuses on engineering the product itself to be functional, durable, and producible.

Prototyping and testing new structural designs, such as innovative joinery techniques, new flat-pack assembly methods, or load-bearing components.
Engineering and testing kinetic furniture components, like new recliner mechanisms, height-adjustable desk systems, or complex hinges.
Using CAD modeling and simulation to perform finite element analysis (FEA) to test a new design against specific weight, stress, or BIFMA standards.

Manufacturing Process Improvement
The technical work required to meet modern production, cost, and quality standards.

Developing and programming new automated processes, such as complex 5-axis CNC routing paths, robotic sanding/finishing, or automated upholstery systems.
Designing, building, and testing new jigs, fixtures, or molds required to manufacture a component with a complex or unconventional shape.
Experimenting with new finishing processes, such as developing a more efficient UV curing line or a new powder-coating method for metal components.

From the first sketch to the factory floor, the furniture development process is filled with qualifying activities that can translate into valuable tax savings.