R&D Tax Case Studies | Tobbie Capital Advisory
R&D Tax Incentive engagements from the practice — the technical situations, the claim construction, and the numbers. Names withheld for client confidentiality.
Case Study 1
SaaS platform — search-ranking engine rebuild
A Sydney SaaS client rebuilt their search and recommendation engine across two years. Engineering payroll on the experimental work totalled $1.1M; after eligibility assessment, $760,000 qualified — novel ranking algorithms, failed scalability attempts, cloud-infrastructure testing.
Registered claim: $760,000 → refundable benefit ≈ $330,600 (43.5%, loss position).
The discipline: hypotheses documented per sprint from the repository history — evidence that survived AusIndustry selection for review.
Case Study 2
Wearable sensor — clinical validation program
A medtech client developing a wearable cardiac sensor ran a two-year validation program: iterative prototype rounds, bench testing, and early pilot studies with two Sydney clinics. Eligible spend identified: $520,000 (engineering payroll, prototype builds, clinic trial costs).
Registered claim: $520,000 → refundable benefit ≈ $226,200 (43.5%, loss position).
The discipline: supporting-activity boundaries drawn cleanly — prototype tooling claimed, routine regulatory paperwork excluded — and the experimental record kept per hypothesis.
Case Study 3
Precision fabricator — welding-process experiment
A Western Sydney fabricator trialled a new welding parameter set to join two dissimilar alloys the standard processes couldn't handle. Three months of controlled trials, 40+ test coupons, documented failure modes. Eligible spend: $185,000 (production downtime, trial labour, materials, external metallurgist).
Registered claim: $185,000 → tax benefit ≈ $80,475 (43.5%, loss position).
The discipline: workshop-floor problem-solving converted into a defensible technical narrative — hypothesis (dissimilar-alloy join), experiment (parameter matrix), evidence (coupon test records).
Case Study 4
Construction software — claim plus working-capital bridge
A construction-tech client lodged an October R&D claim after a year of experimentation on automated compliance checking against building codes. The claim: $483,000 eligible spend. The refund wouldn't land until after ATO processing — while payroll pressure risked pausing the engineering team.
Two-part outcome: registered claim $483,000 (benefit ≈ $210,105) + a $210,000 facility secured against the refund, repaid in full when the refund arrived.
The discipline: the financing was structured so it didn't disturb the registration — one careless structure can cost more than it raises.
"The strongest claims are supported by evidence created during development — not documentation produced retrospectively."
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