About Us
Founder of TaxTrex
R&D Tax Researcher, Technical Compliance Leader & Innovation Policy Advocate
- The idea began in 2012: Adam Rogers began developing the ideas that became TaxTrex while working on the first research into how R&D tax claims could be substantiated through better, more contemporaneous evidence.
- Research became a platform: The original concept was to capture the technical story of R&D while the work was happening, rather than reconstructing it months later. That research-led approach developed into TaxTrex.
- Proven through practice: Thousands of R&D projects have since passed through TaxTrex across multiple jurisdictions, industries and technologies.
- Global research record: Adam has co-authored R&D tax substantiation research across seven countries: Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland.
- Technical & academic background: Mechanical engineer and former university academic in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, with more than 20 years of R&D tax experience.
Adam Rogers combines the technical background of a mechanical engineer and former university academic in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics with more than two decades working in R&D tax. As a Principal and Partner of global R&D tax advisory firm Swanson Reed, he is the firm's lead technical compliance leader and works across international R&D tax regimes, documentation, audit defence, HMRC R&D tax audits and R&D tax court appeals. Major R&D tax credit clients he has worked with include Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, Rio Tinto Limited and Caterpillar. He routinely speaks on innovation policy at workshops and conferences across Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Adam is also Chairperson of the Patent Grants Think Tank, which advocates internationally for entitlement-based patent grant programs, and is heavily involved in integrating the Grant Ninja and AusGrant grant consulting advisory businesses into the Swanson Reed group.
Part One
Peer-reviewed journals & industry publications
Practical Documentation of QRAs for the R&D Tax Credit
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.
Practical Documentation of Qualifying Research Activities for the SR&ED Tax Credit
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?
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.
Documentation Required for Research and Development Tax Relief
A technical overview of HMRC requirements for substantiating R&D claims in the UK, focusing on the competent professional standard.
Practical Documentation Strategies for Substantiating Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) Claims in New Zealand
Examines practical documentation strategies for substantiating New Zealand RDTI claims, extending Rogers' research on contemporaneous R&D evidence and technical substantiation to the New Zealand regime.
Practical Documentation for Substantiating R&D Tax Claims in Singapore
Examines practical approaches to documenting and substantiating qualifying R&D activities in Singapore, with a focus on contemporaneous technical evidence.
Developing a Substantiation Strategy for the Irish R&D Tax Credit
Develops a structured approach to substantiating Irish R&D tax credit claims and extends the research programme on contemporaneous documentation to Ireland.
Development of an Early On-Set Innovation Culture in Australia
A study on how tax incentives and policy frameworks can stimulate innovation culture in early-stage enterprises.
Substantiating an Experiment: The R&D Tax Conundrum
An analysis of the evidentiary requirements for proving the "progression of work" in experimental activities under Australian tax law.
Part Two
Whitepapers & think tank research
Innovation in Australia: Building a Prosperous Future Through Innovation
A national innovation policy discussion paper reporting findings from the 2015 innovationCAFE workshop series hosted by Swanson Reed and Wrays. It examines the views of Australian industry leaders on the conditions needed to strengthen innovation, collaboration and commercialisation and to build a more prosperous innovation-led economy.
The inventionINDEX | Theory Whitepaper: Measuring Innovation Elasticity
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.
Patent Grants Program and the Innovation Pipeline
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
Introduces the traffic light warning system. Rogers argues that for states where the inventionINDEX warning system is triggered, structural patent production deficiencies can be reversed through immediate execution of the Patent Grant Program.
The inventionINDEX | Early Warning System Whitepaper
Introduces the concept of an early warning system in the form of a traffic-light alert mechanism detecting early signs of regional stagnation to trigger policy intervention.
Collaborative Patent Grants: Boosting University Collaboration
A concept paper proposing a Collaborative Patent Grant program to increase Australian patent production and strengthen university-industry collaboration. It proposes grant support of up to $50,000 per international patent family and requires participating patent applications to include an Australian university academic as a contributing inventor.
International 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)
New Zealand (RDTI)
Ireland (Revenue)
Singapore (IRAS)
Part Three