1. Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) – State agency administering tax laws and revenue.
  2. Research and Development Tax Credit Program – Incentive for businesses conducting research in Florida.
  3. Florida Statutes (F.S.) § 220.196 – Law establishing the Florida R&D tax credit.
  4. Florida Corporate Income Tax – Tax on net income of corporations in Florida.
  5. Qualified Research Expenses (QREs) – Eligible costs for the research tax credit.
  6. Base Amount – Benchmark for calculating excess research expenses.
  7. Average of Qualified Research Expenses (4 Preceding Tax Years) – Average QREs from the previous four years.
  8. Excess Qualified Research Expenses over Base Amount – Amount of QREs exceeding the calculated base.
  9. 10% Credit Rate – Percentage applied to excess qualified research expenses.
  10. Corporate Income Tax Liability (CI Tax) – Total corporate income tax owed to Florida.
  11. 50% CI Tax Liability Limit – Credit cannot exceed half of tax liability.
  12. Remaining Net Income Tax Liability (after other credits) – Tax owed after applying other state credits.
  13. Carryforward Period (5 Years) – Unused credits can be carried forward five years.
  14. Annual Credit Cap ($9 Million Total) – Maximum total credits granted statewide per year.
  15. Prorated Allocation – Credit reduced if total applications exceed cap.
  16. Application for Allocation of Credit – Form to request a share of the credit cap.
  17. Application Window (March 20 – March 26) – Specific dates to submit credit allocation applications.
  18. Business Enterprise – Entity engaged in commercial or industrial activities.
  19. Corporation (Defined in § 220.03, F.S.) – Legal entity subject to Florida corporate tax.
  20. Qualified Target Industry Business (QTIB) – Business in a specific high-growth industry.
  21. QTIB Definition (§ 288.106(2)(n), F.S.) – Legal criteria defining a target industry business.
  22. Florida Department of Commerce (Certification Letter) – Agency certifying business is in target industry.
  23. Manufacturing Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector producing goods eligible for target incentives.
  24. Life Sciences Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector involving biology and medicine research.
  25. Information Technology Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector dealing with computing and data systems.
  26. Aviation and Aerospace Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector involving aircraft and spacecraft development.
  27. Homeland Security and Defense Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector focused on national safety and defense.
  28. Cloud Information Technology Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector providing internet-based computing services.
  29. Marine Sciences Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector studying ocean life and physical properties.
  30. Materials Science Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector researching properties of solid matter.
  31. Nanotechnology Industry (Eligible QTIB) – Sector manipulating matter on an atomic scale.
  32. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 41 – Federal law defining the R&D tax credit.
  33. Claim and be Allowed a Federal Research Credit – Requirement to qualify for the Florida credit.
  34. Federal Form 6765 (Required Attachment) – Federal form calculating the research credit amount.
  35. In-House Research Expenses Incurred – Wages and supplies for internal research activities.
  36. Contract Research Expenses Incurred – Payments to third parties for research services.
  37. Research Conducted Outside Florida (Exclusion) – Expenses not incurred within Florida are ineligible.
  38. Predecessor Corporation (Base Amount Adjustment) – Prior entity’s data used for base calculation.
  39. Reduced Credit (for Less than 4 Years in Existence) – Credit lowered if business is new.
  40. 25% Reduction (for Each Missing Taxable Year) – Penalty for lacking four years of history.
  41. Disregarded Single Member Limited Liability Company (Exclusion) – Entity type generally ineligible for corporate credit.
  42. Partnership/LLC Taxed as Partnership (Exclusion) – Pass-through entities usually ineligible for this credit.
  43. Corporate Partner (Separate Application) – Partner applies separately for their credit share.
  44. Allocated Partnership Research Expenses – Expenses passed to partners for credit calculation.
  45. Recalculation of Credit Amount (Federal Audit) – Adjusting credit based on federal audit results.
  46. Amended Florida Returns (Federal Audit Adjustment) – Filing corrected returns after federal tax changes.
  47. Addition to Taxable Income (Credit Amount) – Credit amount added back to taxable income.
  48. Rule 12C-1.0196, F.A.C. (Administrative Code) – Administrative rules governing the R&D credit.
  49. Sales Tax Exemption (§ 212.052, F.S.) – Separate exemption for research machinery and equipment.