Strike R&D Tax Advisory

What Strike R&D Tax Advisory does

Strike R&D Tax Advisory (legal name: Strike Tax Advisory; DBA "Strike Tax Advisory") is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based professional-services firm founded in 2019 by Jonathan Cardella, with three co-founders and a CTO on the leadership team. The firm specializes exclusively in identifying, documenting, and defending U.S. federal and state R&D tax credits under IRC §41 and related state programs, using a four-stage study process (Discovery, Documentation, Delivery, and Ongoing Support) that yields audit-ready study reports and a Credit Release Letter filed in coordination with each client's existing CPA.

The firm operates on a 100% contingency fee model — no retainers, no upfront fees, no monthly billings — and bundles unlimited federal-and-state audit defense ("Strike Shield™") with a 100% fee-back guarantee if credits are disallowed. Service lines span the federal credit (Form 6765), ten dedicated state sub-brand programs (California, Texas, New York, Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Colorado), a startup payroll-tax offset product ($500K/year for up to 5 years for Qualified Small Businesses), an OBBBA-driven refund service for 2022–2024 under Section 174 amortization reversal, and a free Second Opinion review for prior claims from other providers.

Customer acquisition is sales-led and consultative, driven by a free 15–30 minute consultation, an online R&D Tax Credit Calculator, industry- and state-specific SEO content, and a For-CPAs & Partners referral channel. To date, the firm reports serving 1,100+ clients, delivering $300M+ in credits at an average $250K per completed study across 800+ studies, ranked #23 on the Inc. 5000. No external funding, parent company, or M&A activity is disclosed.

Name

Strike R&D Tax Advisory

Legal name

Strike Tax Advisory

Website

https://striketax.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strike is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based R&D tax credit consulting firm that identifies, documents, and defends federal and state research credits for U.S. businesses on a contingency-fee basis with unlimited audit defense.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax Credit Consulting

NAICS

Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211), Tax Preparation Services (541213)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax Advisory & Compliance (BPAHABAB)

Keywords

• R&D tax credits
• Tax credit consulting
• Federal tax credits
• State tax credits
• Audit defense services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boise

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Contingency-based R&D Tax Credit Services: The company operates exclusively on a contingency fee basis. Clients pay a percentage of the R&D tax credits successfully identified and delivered. No upfront costs, no retainers, no monthly billings, and no hidden costs. If no credits are found, no fee is charged.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Strike R&D Tax Advisory identifies, documents, and defends federal and state R&D tax credits for U.S. businesses through a contingency-fee, four-stage consulting process (Discovery, Documentation, Delivery, Support). The firm specializes exclusively in R&D tax credit identification and recovery with no upfront fees, partnering with clients' CPAs to file amended returns and to recover missed credits retroactively under programs such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Product overview

Strike R&D Tax Advisory is a single-focus R&D tax credit specialty firm offering a unified consulting service to help U.S. businesses identify, document, and recover federal and state R&D tax credits. The core service is a contingency-based consulting engagement that combines discovery interviews, audit-ready study reports, and unlimited audit defense (Strike Shield™), delivering credits through clients' CPAs. The offering is organized around the core federal R&D tax credit consulting (via IRS Form 6765), the specialized OBBBA refunds recovery service for 2022–2024 missed credits, and a portfolio of state-specific sub-brands covering California, Texas, New York, Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and Colorado. Add-on tools include a free R&D Tax Credit Calculator for quick estimates, Second Opinion Services for reviewing prior claims, and Payroll Tax Credit (Startup Offset) services for qualified small businesses. Strike works exclusively on contingency with no upfront fees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• R&D Tax Credit Consulting Services Core consulting engagement through which Strike identifies and documents R&D tax credits for U.S. businesses via a four-stage process (Discovery, Documentation, Delivery, Ongoing Support), delivering audit-ready study reports and credit calculations on a contingency-fee basis with no upfront costs.
• OBBBA R&D Tax Credit Refunds Specialized service enabling businesses to recover missed R&D tax credits for tax years 2022–2024 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which retroactively removed Section 174 amortization. Strike prepares amended returns with required election statements per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28 and coordinates with clients' CPAs to file and secure cash refunds from the IRS.
• Payroll Tax Credit (Startup Offset) Service for Qualified Small Businesses to offset up to $500,000 per year in payroll taxes for up to 5 years using R&D credits, available even without federal income tax liability, making it valuable for VC-backed and pre-revenue companies.
• Second Opinion Services Expert review and quality assessment of prior R&D tax credit claims from other providers to identify unclaimed credits, offered at no obligation on a contingency basis; if no additional credits are found, the client pays nothing.
• California R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for California, offering a 15% credit on incremental qualified research expenses with a $5 million annual cap on combined business credits for 2024–2026, nonrefundable but with indefinite carryforward and a partial refund election option.
• Texas R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Texas under SB 2206, offering 8.722% (or 10.903% enhanced for higher education contracts) on excess QREs, with 20-year carryforward and full refundability for entities owing no franchise tax, effective for franchise tax reports due on or after January 1, 2026.
• New York Life Sciences R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for New York's Life Sciences R&D Tax Credit Program, offering 15–20% (fully refundable) on NY-sourced QREs for certified new life sciences businesses, capped at $500,000/year and $1.5 million lifetime, administered by Empire State Development.
• Arizona R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Arizona with tiered rates of 24% on the first $2.5 million of excess QREs and 15% above, plus a 75% partial refund for businesses with fewer than 150 employees (ACA-certified), subject to a statewide $5 million refund cap.
• Massachusetts R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Massachusetts offering a 10% incremental rate plus 15% for basic research payments, with an Alternative Simplified Credit (ASC) option at 10%, 15-year carryforward, and a refund election for certified life sciences companies via the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
• Georgia R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Georgia offering a 10% credit on excess QREs, offsetting up to 50% of net income tax liability, with excess applicable to payroll withholding via Form IT-WH election, and carryforward of up to 10 years (pre-2025 credits) or 5 years (2025+ credits).
• Pennsylvania R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Pennsylvania offering 10% (or 20% for small businesses with assets under $5M) on excess QREs, with 15-year carryforward, $60 million annual statewide cap, and transferable/sellable credits with 92.9% historical retention value.
• Florida R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Florida offering a 10% credit on excess QREs for certified target industry businesses (manufacturing, life sciences, IT, aerospace, etc.), limited to C-corps, with a $9 million statewide annual cap and 5-year carryforward.
• Ohio R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Ohio offering a 7% credit on excess QREs over the prior 3-year average, nonrefundable but carryforwardable for up to 7 years against Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) liability.
• Colorado R&D Tax Credit Services State-level R&D tax credit services for Colorado offering a 3% credit on excess QREs within designated Enterprise Zones, nonrefundable with indefinite carryforward (25% annual usage limit) and pre-certification from local EZ administrator required.
• Agriculture R&D Tax Credit Services Industry-specific R&D tax credit services for agricultural operations (row crops, livestock, agtech), covering activities such as seed breeding, precision irrigation prototyping, soil amendment formulation, automated harvesting equipment development, and yield prediction analytics.
• Food & Beverage R&D Tax Credit Services Industry-specific R&D tax credit services for food and beverage companies covering activities such as plant-based formulation development, shelf-life extension, packaging innovation, extrusion cooking optimization, and fermentation strain selection.
• Aerospace & Defense R&D Tax Credit Services Industry-specific R&D tax credit services for aerospace and defense companies covering activities such as UAV design iterations, propulsion system prototyping, autonomous systems integration, advanced materials development, missile guidance enhancements, and satellite communications infrastructure.
• Engineering R&D Tax Credit Services Industry-specific R&D tax credit services for engineering firms covering activities such as finite element analysis, HVAC system prototyping, power electronics circuit design, pipeline fluid dynamics simulation, and thermal management enclosure iterations.
• Architecture R&D Tax Credit Services Industry-specific R&D tax credit services for architecture firms covering activities such as parametric facade development, sustainable envelope prototyping, BIM-enabled space planning, seismic retrofitting innovations, and net-zero energy system integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $300M in R&D tax credits delivered across 1,100+ clients with average credit of $250K
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• KBKG: One of the largest pure-play R&D tax credit specialty firms in the U.S., providing federal and multi-state credit studies, cost segregation, and energy credits. Closest comparable in terms of pure specialization, contingency-style engagements, and vertical coverage across software, manufacturing, life sciences, and engineering.
• Evergreen Research: Pure-play R&D tax credit and IRC 174 advisory firm serving software, biotech, and manufacturing clients nationwide. Comparable specialty-only positioning, multi-state credit expertise, and audit defense offerings.
• Alliant (formerly K1) R&D Tax Credits: Boutique R&D tax credit consultancy focused exclusively on Section 41 studies for technology and life-sciences startups, often taking equity or contingency compensation. Directly comparable customer segment (VC-backed startups using payroll offset) and credit specialization.

Broad incumbents

• BDO USA: Top-10 U.S. accounting firm with a dedicated R&D tax credit practice serving mid-market and enterprise clients. Overlaps directly on federal/state R&D credit identification and documentation, but operates as part of a much broader assurance, tax, and advisory portfolio rather than as a pure-play specialist.
• CBIZ & Marks Paneth: National tax and advisory firm with a dedicated R&D tax credit specialty group. Comparable across target mid-market customers and the multi-state credit offering, but sells R&D credits inside a larger benefits/payroll/tax stack rather than a contingency-only focus.
• RSM US: Mid-market-focused accounting firm with an established R&D tax credit consulting practice. Serves similar middle-market and VC-backed clients across multiple verticals, particularly manufacturing and technology — direct overlap with Strike's core customer base.
• KPMG (R&D Tax Services): Big Four firm offering federal and state R&D tax credit services including Section 41 studies, IRC 174 advisory, and audit defense. Comparable on credit identification and documentation, but typically serves enterprise customers and competes on advisory depth rather than contingency pricing.
• Deloitte (R&D Tax Services): Big Four firm operating a global R&D tax credit practice covering U.S. federal and multi-state studies, Section 174, and international credits. Comparable on study methodology and customer verticals, but typically targets enterprise-scale engagements rather than SMB contingency work.

Emerging players

• Boast.AI: Tech-enabled R&D tax credit platform combining AI-based timesheet/expense capture with expert review. Direct overlap on federal/state credit identification for SMB and mid-market tech and life-sciences customers, and serves as a technology-led alternative model to Strike's manual study workflow.
• TaxScouts / Source Financial Advisors: Smaller specialty R&D tax credit consultancies focused exclusively on federal Section 41 credit identification for small and mid-sized businesses. Highly comparable business model (specialty-only, contingency or fixed-fee studies) and customer profile, differing mainly on geographic reach and marketing scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strike R&D Tax Advisory