Andy Sams
Chief Executive Officer
R&D Tax Credit Consultants
Find Out If You Qualify for the Maryland R&D Tax Credit
One 15-minute call with a real advisor.
No jargon, no pressure, no obligation.
Big 4 backgrounds. Boutique attention. 100% success rate.
Maryland at a glance
Credit rate
10%
of Maryland qualified research expenses above your Maryland base amount.
Per-applicant cap
$250K
No applicant can receive more than $250,000. Total credits are capped at $12 million a year across all applicants.
Small businesses
Refundable
A business with net book value assets under $5 million is refunded any credit above its Maryland income tax liability.
Carryforward
7 years
Unused credit carries forward up to 7 taxable years after the year the expense was incurred.
Apply by
November 15
Apply to the Maryland Department of Commerce by November 15 of the year after the tax year. Certificates go out by February 15.
How you claim
Certification
Commerce certifies the credit. You then claim it on an amended return or a later return, with the certificate attached.
What Qualifies
Maryland uses the federal definition of qualified research. If your team is working through technical problems and testing alternatives in Maryland, that work may qualify.
Where it shows up
Software
Software and platform work
New features, system architecture, algorithms, data pipelines, and performance or scalability work may qualify when the solution is not obvious up front.
Engineering
Product and process engineering
Prototyping, testing, and design iteration for new or improved products may qualify, along with work to develop better production or lab processes.
Life sciences
Biotech and life sciences
Formulation, assay development, and preclinical research may qualify when the work meets the four-part test.
Maryland Special Rules
Maryland's credit runs through an application and certification process, with annual caps. These are the rules worth knowing before you apply.
Maryland-only research
Only qualified research conducted in Maryland counts, and the expenses have to be incurred for that Maryland work. The gross receipts and expenses in the base calculation are Maryland figures too.
Apply to Commerce first
You cannot just claim the credit on your return. You apply to the Maryland Department of Commerce by November 15 of the year after the tax year, and you need to be in good standing with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Commerce issues a certificate by February 15, and a copy goes with your return.
A capped pool shared by every applicant
Total credits are capped at $12 million a year, with $3.5 million set aside for small businesses and $8.5 million for everyone else. No applicant can receive more than $250,000. If applications exceed a pool, Commerce prorates every credit in it, and unused amounts in one pool flow to the other.
The Maryland base amount
The credit is 10% of Maryland qualified expenses above a base amount built from your Maryland gross receipts and R&D spending over the credit year and the four years before it. In the first year you have R&D expenses, the base amount is zero, so the credit is 10% of all qualified expenses.
Small business status
A small business is a for-profit company with net book value assets under $5 million at the beginning or end of the tax year, shown on its balance sheet. Small businesses draw from their own pool, and the credit is refundable to the extent it exceeds their Maryland income tax.
Subsidiaries, mergers, and sunset
Only the parent company applies, and each subsidiary gets a share of the credit based on its share of the group's Maryland qualified expenses. After a merger or acquisition, you include the acquired company's prior Maryland expenses in your base amount. The credit currently runs through tax year 2030.
How It Works With the Federal Credit
The Maryland credit and the federal credit are separate claims, but they draw on the same definitions. Maryland uses the federal definitions of qualified research and qualified research expenses, limited to work done in Maryland, so the same technical documentation can support both claims.
The timelines differ. The federal credit goes on your tax return, while Maryland requires an application to Commerce by November 15 before you can claim. We work alongside your CPA to keep both on track.
Federal
Maryland
Form
Form 6765
Commerce application and certificate
Credit rate
20% of expenses above a base amount
10% of expenses above a Maryland base amount
Funding cap
No program-wide cap
$12 million a year, with $250,000 per applicant
Timing
Claimed with your return, or by amended return for open years
Apply by November 15 of the following year, certificate issued by February 15
Where the research happens
United States
Maryland
Refundability
Payroll tax election for qualified small businesses (IRC §41(h))
Refundable for small businesses with net book value assets under $5 million
Our Process
Technical interviews
We meet with your key staff to identify every qualifying project and disqualify any that don’t meet IRS criteria.
Financial analysis
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.
Deliver
& file
You receive a complete, audit ready report that your CPA files alongside your taxes or amends for prior years.
Schedule Your Free Credit Review
Start with a no-obligation call to determine what your business could claim.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Details
As the Chief Executive Officer at RK Partners, Andy brings two decades of experience across business structuring, private wealth, and operational leadership to the business. An award-winning Chartered Tax Adviser, he spent a decade at Deloitte, rising to leadership positions within the firm, before joining the creation of a global multi-family office, where he spent seven years scaling the business as senior partner of the firm responsible for its growth, strategic direction and operational excellence. Andy has not only advised entrepreneurs on everything from start-ups to global enterprises, but has personally experienced MBOs, capital raises, and business exits. He understands how to scale a business and help the people inside it keep and compound what they build.
At RK Partners, Andy is focused on deepening the firm's capabilities, scaling its operations, and ensuring clients continue to receive the same rigorous, high-touch service RK is known for as the business grows. Andy is drawn to businesses that combine real technical expertise with genuine client impact and sees R&D tax credits as an area where that combination matters more than ever.
April Zozzaro
Chief Operating Officer, CPA
April is responsible for overseeing the entire operations of the business, as well as the R&D Tax Credit practice. A licensed CPA with a Master’s in Accounting, she brings over 12 years of specialized experience in R&D tax incentives, having worked across a broad range of industries and supported companies from early-stage startups to global Fortune 500s.
Before joining RK Partners, April held a Manager role at Deloitte, where she was instrumental in delivering over $700 million in R&D tax credits to her clients. Since joining RK, she has played a foundational role in building the firm’s consulting practice from the ground up - designing its technical approach, developing operational frameworks, and scaling a high-performing team of consultants.
Under her leadership, RK Partners has established a reputation for technical excellence, rigorous compliance, and meaningful client impact. April’s ability to bridge deep subject matter expertise with practical business acumen has made her a trusted advisor to clients and a cornerstone of the firm’s growth and delivery success.
.avif)
Sam Wooldridge
Chief Commercial Officer
With over 7 years of international experience in Tax Credits and Incentives, Sam leads the Commercial Team at RK Partners, where he combines sharp commercial acumen with strategic leadership. Throughout his career, he has helped a wide range of businesses unlock the full value of government incentives. While his client base spans multiple industries, he has developed particular expertise in Agriculture, Software, and Manufacturing.
At RK, Sam is responsible for driving the firm’s commercial strategy and leading all client engagement initiatives, ensuring clients and partners consistently receive exceptional value. Recognized for his deep industry knowledge, ability to build and scale high-performing teams, and his commitment to long-term client relationships, Sam is a trusted leader in an increasingly dynamic and competitive landscape.
.avif)
Scott H. Durepo
Chief Compliance Officer
Scott spent 19 years at Deloitte Tax in both the Research and Development Tax Credit Group and the Tax Controversy Group and has over 25 years’ experience with the Research Tax Credit. He represented Fortune 100 and 500 companies as well as much smaller clients during their IRS audits. He successfully resolved 55 cases at the Examination level and has not had even one case that went to IRS Appeals. The resolutions included amounts from a few hundred thousand to over 200 million.
At RK Partners, Scott leads the firm’s compliance and audit defense function. He directly oversees the training and development of our consulting team, ensuring they maintain a deep and current understanding of federal tax law, recent case law, and IRS examination trends. His rigorous approach to documentation, substantiation, and risk management safeguards our clients and reinforces the technical credibility of every claim we prepare.
.avif)
Randall Roisman
Chief Financial Officer
Randall Roisman's career in healthcare has spanned more than 20 years, including multiple C-level and VP/Executive-level finance and strategy roles in various large, complex, and well-respected health systems and healthcare providers in Southern California, in both for-profit and non-profit environments.
Throughout his career as a financial executive, Randall has consistently integrated his strategic vision and operational knowledge into his roles to grow organizations. He created and developed a transformative, industry-first joint venture partnership between a major integrated delivery health system and a leading national dental support organization (DSO) to build co-located medical and dental sites in which primary care and dental providers address the connection between oral and systemic health, provide patients with access to comprehensive healthcare focused on the health of the whole person, and reduce the total costs of care.
Randall also regularly assesses and implements operational improvements and efficiencies, revenue enhancement and business development opportunities, and cost containment and expense mitigation strategies.
Mark Kashinskiy
Founder & Chairman
Mark is the Founder of RK Partners; he is a serial entrepreneur with a focus on ventures at the intersection of tax incentives, technology, and consulting. With a strong background in commercial strategy and a track record of launching and scaling ventures, he has spent the past decade helping companies unlock hidden value through government incentives, while scaling high-performance teams across a range of industries.
Mark has led the firm from the ground up, growing RK into one of the most rapidly growing Tax Credits & Incentives consultancies in the US. Serving clients from high-growth startups through to large enterprises, Mark has played a hands-on role in building the firm’s commercial engine, operational structure, and leadership team – laying the foundational infrastructure for long-term success.
In his current role as Chairman, Mark is focused on shaping the strategy, vision and culture for the firm - ensuring RK continues to succeed at the highest level.
