R&D Tax Credits:
By Industry
RK Partners is firm comprised of highly experienced tax professionals dedicated to research and development tax credits.
What Industries Are Likely to Qualify?
The U.S. R&D tax credit is available to businesses across a wide range of sectors. The defining question is not what industry you are in, but whether your team is undertaking qualified research to resolve genuine technical uncertainty.
Click on your industry below to find out more about R&D tax credits your business may qualify for.
Agriculture
Improving the health of your animals, improving the quality of the product through feed trials and nutrition science, improving the generic composition of your animals through genomic tools or data modelling.
Artificial Intelligence
Designing and training custom NLP models for domain-specific tasks, designing custom machine learning models (CNNs, RNNs, transformers), embedding AI into larger software platforms
Defense
Designing and prototyping new weapons, countermeasures or targeting systems; developing custom battlefield management systems, secure communications software, or drone control platforms; designing systems that integrate inputs from radar, lidar, EO/IR cameras, acoustic sensors, etc.
Manufacturing
Designing and prototyping new components, parts, assemblies, or finished goods; developing custom tooling, fixtures or molds to produce new product design; developing or integrating robotics, vision systems, or automated control logic into production workflows; experimenting with alternative metals, plastics, composites, or additives to improve cost, strength, or weight.
Metal Fabrication
Modifying designs to improve weight, load-bearing capacity, thermal performance, or manufacturability; testing different welding techniques (MIG, TIG, laser, spot) to minimize defects like porosity, cracking, or undercut; evaluating alternative metals (e.g., aluminum, stainless, high-strength alloys) for strength, weldability, corrosion resistance, or cost.
Precision Optics
Designing lenses, mirrors, or optical assemblies for cameras, sensors, or laser systems; developing laser-based systems (e.g., LIDAR, laser communication, spectroscopy) requiring precise control of wavelength, coherence, or beam quality; designing and testing optics-electronics integration for CCD/CMOS sensors, avalanche photodiodes, or other detectors.
SaaS
Developing new platform functionality or backend architecture; solving scalability, latency, uptime, or data-processing constraints; building or improving algorithms for search, matching, recommendations, automation, analytics, or workflow logic.
Biotech
Drug discovery and development; developing new delivery mechanisms; experimenting with fermentation, purification, or crystallization techniques; cell & gene therapy and development
Product Development
Developing new platform functionality or backend architecture; solving scalability, latency, uptime, or data-processing constraints; building or improving algorithms for search, matching, recommendations, automation, analytics, or workflow logic.
Cosmetics
New product development (skincare, haircare, or cosmetic products), ingredient innovation & substitution, stability tests to improve product shelf life, preservative & microbial system design.
Dairy
Developing new methods for herd management, milking automation, or feed formulation; solving constraints around milk yield, herd health, feed efficiency, or environmental controls; building or improving systems for monitoring, data tracking, disease detection, or breeding optimization.
Cattle
Developing new approaches to genetics, breeding, or herd health management; solving constraints around feed conversion, weight gain, disease resistance, or environmental stress; building or improving systems for tracking, monitoring, nutrition formulation, or breeding selection.
Swine
Developing new methods for breeding, nutrition, or facility design; solving constraints around growth rates, feed conversion, disease control, or waste management; building or improving systems for monitoring, environmental controls, genetics tracking, or biosecurity protocols.
Row Crops
Developing new planting, irrigation, or soil management techniques; solving constraints around yield variability, pest resistance, water efficiency, or nutrient uptake; building or improving systems for precision agriculture, data analytics, automation, or crop monitoring.
Aerospace
Aircraft design & structural engineering; conducting CFD simulations, wind tunnel tests, and structural analyses; developing onboard flight control systems, communication modules, and navigation software; designing systems to manage extreme heat, cold, and pressure in high-altitude or spaceflight environments.
Packaging
Developing custom packaging that protects products during shipping, storage, or handling (e.g., drop/impact resistance, vibration tolerance); Creating recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable alternatives to plastic or Styrofoam packaging; developing packaging that extends shelf life by regulating oxygen, moisture, or UV transmission.
Software Development
Developing new platforms, frameworks, or backend systems with novel architecture; solving for scalability, latency or memory constraints; creating or customizing algorithms for search, matching, recommendation, or data processing.
Green Tech
Developing new methods for energy generation, storage, or efficiency; solving constraints around scalability, durability, cost, or environmental impact; building or improving systems for monitoring, automation, materials, or process optimization.
Cyber Security
Designing and building intrusion detection systems (IDS), endpoint protection, or next-gen firewalls; creating custom tools for internal red teaming or penetration testing; solving performance, scalability, and security trade-offs in encryption-heavy applications.
This list is illustrative, and if you don't see yours, it's still worth reaching out to our expert research and development tax credit consultants.
How RK Partners Can Help
RK Partners is a specialist R&D tax consultant firm with a long track record of helping businesses maximize the value of their R&D investment. After the three steps, we compile an audit-ready report for your CPA to file alongside your taxes or amends for prior years.
Technical Interviews
We meet with your key staff to identify every qualifying project and disqualify any that don’t meet IRS criteria.
Financial Review
Our team reviews your payroll, general ledger, and tax returns to calculate the full credit.
Compliance Review
A dedicated team with an impeccable IRS defense record reviews everything through our QA process.
What Our Clients Say
Our track record is built across more than 600 businesses.
They were really good to work with, and the process was relatively easy. It’s a specialized thing for sure, for a normal CPA this doesn’t fall under their umbrella. It was positive and definitely worth the time.
I had a key role in working with Sam and the team at RK Partners on behalf of Sydor Optics. There was some work involved, specifically in acquiring current and past data for analysis, but the ROI was well worth it!
Sydor Optics has never taken advantage of R&D credits because we are a custom build to print shop. After talking with Sam, it turns out we do R&D activities every day. Whether it’s making our process more efficient through DOEs, trying out to new consumables, or our daily DFM meeting, it all counted! Sam and his team are great and easy; I highly encourage a call with them. Traditional CPAs only know so much, RK knows the tax code inside and out.
RK Partners did a great job of finding all qualifying R&D work in my business and documenting it professionally. We were also able to find current work that will qualify for our claim next year, so I look forward to working with them in the future! I would recommend using RK Partners to look into your current process, they have very specialist people over there that will make sure you get the best possible benefit within the regulations.
I appreciate the work that RK did to help me identify and work through my farm R&D tax credit. The team did a great job of helping me identify the information they needed and putting it all together.
Great communication through the whole process which helped me have confidence in the process.
.avif)
We have been working with RK Partners for a few years now on the R&D Tax Credits, having worked with another specialist provider before. One thing that stood out is RK’s knowledge of the agricultural space: they understand the work that we do and are clearly experts in the sector.
The result is that we have had a more substantial benefit year on year, which has been very helpful! They have also been great at working with our CPA throughout the process – saves us time, for sure! I would recommend the team at RK to anyone in the poultry sector looking to do an R&D Tax Credit claim!
.avif)
A successful partnership from the first phone call... We have worked with RK Partners for 2 years on our R&D Tax Credit Analysis.
Their professionalism, expertise, attention to detail and most importantly interpersonal skills made the entire process smooth and successful. It has been a real pleasure working with them and we look ahead to continued success together.
.avif)
We’ve been working with R&K Partners for over three years on our R&D tax credit analysis, and the experience has been consistently excellent, hands on, and professional. As a tech startup, it’s rare to find partners who combine deep technical expertise with world-class responsiveness; RK delivers on all fronts.
With recent changes in legislation, R&D tax credits are more important than ever, and having a trusted, knowledgeable team in your corner makes all the difference. I highly recommend them to any enterprise: from startups to bonafide enterprises.
BioXtek has partnered with RK Partners for several years to manage our R&D tax credit claims, and their expertise has been instrumental in our success. As a startup that has scaled significantly, we’ve relied on RK Partners to establish and maintain a robust, compliant process for capturing R&D tax credits.
Their proactive guidance ensured we implemented effective systems early on, allowing us to maximize eligible credits while seamlessly adapting to our growth. RK Partners’ deep knowledge, reliability, and commitment to our success make them an invaluable partner. We highly recommend their services to any organization seeking to optimize their R&D tax credit claims with confidence and efficiency.
