Hemp Product Development

The hemp product industry is booming, and this boom is being driven largely by innovation. Hemp has been cultivated for centuries, but was cast aside in the U.S. with the passing of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp farmers and savvy entrepreneurs are reaping the benefits of this highly versatile and useful crop. Companies are producing a wide range of environmentally-friendly and sustainable products including textiles, plastics, building materials, biofuels, and potentially even batteries. Significant investments in research and development are involved in creating hemp-based products, and companies can recoup a portion of these costs by claiming the R&D Tax Credit.

The R&D Tax Credit is an activities-based credit. Employee wages, raw materials and supplies, and third-party contractor costs associated with R&D activities are considered qualified research expenses (QREs). Companies can receive refunds of up to 22% of total QREs through federal and state tax credits, depending on the state in which your business operates.

Example activities that qualify:

• Developing proprietary products, processes, or formulas
• Experimenting with formulas for optimal products
• Implementing process improvements to increase efficiency or output
• Adding automation or robotics to an existing product line
• Creating new hemp-based plastics, grains, polymers, or fabrics
• Assessing a novel hemp-based material for durability and functionality
• Ensuring product conforms to FDA or other regulatory agency requirements
• Producing first articles or prototypes

Do you have these job titles on your payroll, or do you hire third-party contractors to do these jobs?

• Botanists
• C-Suite
• Chemists
• Consultants
• Director of R&D
• Extraction Technicians
• Food Scientists
• Laboratory Technicians
• Master Extractors
• Mechanical Engineers
• Product Development Personnel / Managers
• Product Engineers
• Research Scientists

Use our Hemp Tax Calculator to estimate your potential benefit, and partner with HempTax to claim your benefits with no up-front costs. Contact one of our experts today.