R&D tax credit interview questions for engineering teams, with a records-depth block

When should you use this question bank?

Use it for the technical interviews in a credit study: the 30-to-60-minute conversations with engineers, product leads and quality managers that turn project files into a narrative of hypothesis, uncertainty, experiment and outcome. The questions below are written for the interviewer. A second, short block records how long and how well the team documented its decisions, which is the depth signal behind a permissioned licensing introduction.

Nothing here decides whether an activity qualifies for a credit. That judgment belongs to the engagement team applying the tax rules. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

Core interview questions

Copy these into your interview guide. Each sits in a callout so it can be pasted as-is.

Opening and context

Hypothesis and uncertainty

Experiments and alternatives

Outcome and learning

Depth block: how well were decisions documented?

Ask these at the end, and write the answers in a separate section of your notes. They take five minutes and need no access to any file.

How to read the depth answers

A company that scores well should also pass the baseline: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license and an authorized sponsor. The company fit checker gives a non-binding preliminary screen.

Adapting the questions by client type

For fuller context, see how this plays out for manufacturers, architecture and engineering firms and AI development projects.

What never to do with the interview notes

• Never copy or describe confidential records to SourceX. Partners share basic fit information only.
• Never promise payment, a price or a result to the client. Nothing is binding until the company agrees price and terms and signs.
• Never type or quote reward amounts in client communications; the signed agreement and published terms set the economics.
• Never mix the credit engagement with the referral in fees or engagement letters.
• Never raise the topic without the client's permission.

How does a referral from an interview work, and what do rewards look like?

If the depth answers are strong and the owner is open, the steps are short. You share your referral link, or submit basic company details through the referral form. SourceX qualifies the company, the company completes its own data inventory, price and terms are agreed, buyers review, and the deal closes with delivery and payment. Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company, and only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed. Check your firm's independence policy and your state board first, and read the program terms.

Follow-up timing

Hold the licensing question until the credit study is delivered. Then raise it at the next planning meeting, within a few weeks, while the interview context is fresh. If the owner declines, note it and do not ask again in the same year. The accountants overview and the CAS growth guide explain how this fits a wider advisory practice.

Next step

Add the depth block to your standard interview guide for the next study. When a client scores well and agrees, register as a partner and make the introduction.