Key Takeaways: Adam Rogers (Swanson Reed)

  • Principal Specialist: Partner at Swanson Reed with 20+ years of experience in R&D Tax Credits.
  • Global Reach: Extensively published in 6 countries including Australia, USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, and Singapore.
  • Core Specialization: Specialist in SR&ED (Canada), Section 41 (USA), and R&D Tax Incentive (Australia) documentation and audit defense.
  • Innovation Policy: Thought leader in fostering innovation culture and “Patent Box” tax regimes.

Adam Rogers

Principal & Partner | Swanson Reed – Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Fort Worth Affiliation: Adam Rogers leads the Texas operations for Swanson Reed from the Fort Worth office (1120 South Freeway). He returned to the DFW area in 2011 to spearhead the firm’s U.S. expansion, maintaining a strong local presence while managing international R&D tax compliance.

Adam Rogers is a mechanical engineer and registered tax agent who has worked exclusively in the R&D tax credit space since 2005. He is extensively published across six countries, focusing on the intersection of technical engineering, innovation policy, and tax law.

 

Recent Whitepapers & Think Tank Research

  • The inventionINDEX | Theory Whitepaper: Measuring Innovation Elasticity
    Lead Researcher, Swanson Reed Think Tank — 2025
    This comprehensive report introduces the inventionINDEX, a metric that evaluates innovation health by analyzing the ratio of GDP growth to patent production growth. Rogers argues that a 20-year baseline is essential to align with statutory patent lifecycles and identifies a concerning “consolidation phase” in post-pandemic innovation. The paper advocates for private-sector advocacy to bridge the “Valley of Death” for underperforming states.
  • Patent Grants Program and the Innovation Pipeline
    Technical Publication, Swanson Reed Think Tank
    Explores the strategic necessity of patent funding initiatives as a mechanism to artificially stimulate the “elasticity” of the U.S. innovation engine. Rogers examines how targeted, non-dilutive capital can rehabilitate the patenting pipeline in jurisdictions triggering negative sentiment alerts.
  • The inventionINDEX | Practical Applications Whitepaper:
    Lead Researcher, Swanson Reed Think Tank — 2026
    This paper introduces the practical applications of inventionINDEX and its traffic light warning system. Rogers argues that for states or countries where the inventionINDEX traffic light warning system is applied, structural patent production deficencies can be reduced and in some cases reversed through immediate execution of Swanson Reed’s Patent Grant Program.

 

Peer-Reviewed Publications & Technical Papers

  • Practical documentation of qualifying research activities for the SR&ED tax credit
    Published in Journal of Accounting and Taxation (Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1–8) — January 2019
    This paper examines the Canadian SR&ED program, specifically analyzing how businesses must navigate the “Five Question Test” through contemporaneous documentation to prove that software and engineering activities go beyond routine procedures.
  • Should the United States Enact a Patent Box?
    Published in The Tax Adviser (AICPA) — November 2016
    An analysis of the “patent box” tax regime, evaluating the potential economic benefits and challenges of taxing intellectual property income at a preferential rate within the U.S. tax system.
  • Practical Documentation of QRAs for the R&D Tax Credit
    Published in The Tax Adviser (AICPA) — July 2016
    A definitive guide on documenting Qualified Research Activities (QRAs) for U.S. claimants. It provides a framework for satisfying the IRS “four-part test” under IRC Section 41 to ensure audit readiness.
  • Documentation required for research and development tax relief
    Published in Taxation (United Kingdom) — March 2022
  • Substantiating and experiment
    Published in Taxation in Australia — March 2013
  • Development of an early on-set innovation culture in Australia
    Published in Small Enterprise Research Journal — September 2016
  • Collaborative Patent Grants – A program aimed to increase GDP and boost university collaboration
    Published in innovationCAFE Australia — July 2015

 

International Jurisdictions

As the Director of Technical Compliance, Adam Rogers oversees R&D tax strategies and has published technical guidance for the following regions:

United States (IRS)
Australia (ATO)
Canada (CRA)
United Kingdom (HMRC)
Ireland (Revenue)
Singapore (IRAS)