Andy Sams
Chief Executive Officer
R&D Tax Credit Consultants
Find Out If You Qualify for the Michigan 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.
Michigan at a glance
Credit rate
10% or 15%
of Michigan qualified research expenses above your base amount, plus 3% of the base amount. Employers with fewer than 250 employees get 15%, and larger employers get 10%.
Annual cap
$100M
Total credits are capped each year, with $75 million generally reserved for large employers and $25 million for small ones. Treasury prorates credits if claims go over.
Two ways to claim
CIT or payroll
Corporate income tax filers claim through the CIT. Flow-through employers that do not pay CIT can offset their Michigan withholding tax.
University bonus
+5%
An extra 5% credit, up to $200,000, for research done with a Michigan research university under a written agreement.
Apply by
March 15
Apply by March 15 of the year after the expense year. Treasury publishes the proration notice each April.
How you claim
Treasury Online
Apply and claim through Michigan Treasury Online. The credit covers tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
What Qualifies
Michigan uses the federal definition of qualified research expenses under IRC Section 41(b), limited to research done in Michigan. If your team is testing ideas to solve technical problems in Michigan, that work may qualify. You do not need to claim the federal credit to claim Michigan's.
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.
Michigan Special Rules
Michigan's credit is new, covering tax years starting in 2025, and it works differently from the federal credit in several ways. These are the rules worth knowing before you apply.
Michigan-only research
Only expenses for research conducted in Michigan count, and they must meet the federal definition of qualified research expenses. That covers wages, supplies, paid access to computers used only for research, and contract research. Michigan does not allow statistical sampling, so every figure you report has to be final and accurate.
Employer size sets your rate and cap
A business with 250 or more employees at any point in the expense year is a large employer. It gets 10% of expenses above the base amount, with a $2 million cap on the standard credit. Smaller businesses get 15%, with a $250,000 cap. Every employee counts, not just the ones doing research.
The base amount
Your base amount is the average of your Michigan qualified expenses from the three prior calendar years in which you had any. Estimates are not allowed, and a partial year counts as a full year. The credit is 3% of the base amount plus the rate above on everything over it.
A $100 million statewide cap
Total credits are capped at $100 million a year, with $75 million generally reserved for large employers and $25 million for small ones. If claims go over, Treasury publishes a proration percentage each April, and you adjust your credit down by that amount before you claim.
Two ways to claim
Corporate income tax filers apply through the CIT, with extra rules for unitary business groups and fiscal-year filers. Flow-through employers that pay Michigan withholding tax, and are not subject to the CIT or the Michigan Business Tax, can offset their withholding payments. They claim the full credit on their annual return, and any overpayment is refunded.
A bonus for university partnerships
Expenses incurred in collaboration with a Michigan research university earn an extra 5% credit, up to $200,000 a year. The university can be public or an independent nonprofit in Michigan, and you need a written agreement. Your application names the university, and Treasury can ask for the agreement later.
How It Works With the Federal Credit
The Michigan credit and the federal credit are separate claims. Michigan uses the federal definition of qualified research expenses, so the same technical documentation can support both, and you do not need to claim the federal credit to claim Michigan's.
The math and the process differ, though. Michigan adds employer-size rates and caps, a statewide cap with annual proration, and an application through Treasury Online. We work alongside your CPA to keep both claims on track.
Federal
Michigan
Form
Form 6765
Application in Michigan Treasury Online
Credit rate
20% of expenses above a base amount
15% (10% for large employers) of expenses above a base amount, plus 3% of the base amount
Funding cap
No program-wide cap
$100 million a year statewide, prorated if claims exceed it
Timing
Claimed with your return, or by amended return for open years
Apply by March 15 of the following year, proration notice each April
Where the research happens
United States
Michigan
Refundability
Payroll tax election for qualified small businesses (IRC §41(h))
Flow-through employers can offset withholding tax payments
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
