4. General Business Credits
Introduction
Your general business credit for the year consists of your carryforward of business credits from prior years plus the total of your current year business credits. In addition, your general business credit for the current year may be increased later by the carryback of business credits from later years. You subtract this credit directly from your tax.
Useful Items - You may want to see:
Publication
Form (and Instructions)
- 3800
General Business Credit - 6251
Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals
See chapter 12 for information about getting publications and forms.
Business Credits
All of the following credits are part of the general business credit. The form you use to figure each credit is shown in parentheses. Be sure you also read How To Claim the Credit, later, because, in most cases, you will also have to complete Form 3800.
Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit (Form 8911). This credit applies to the cost of any qualified fuel vehicle refueling property you placed in service. For more information, see Form 8911. Alternative motor vehicle credit (Form 8910). This credit consists of the following four credits for new vehicles you placed in service. For more information, see Form 8910.- Qualified fuel cell motor vehicle credit.
- Advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle credit.
- Qualified hybrid motor vehicle credit.
- Qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle credit.
Credit for contributions to selected community development corporations Form 8847
This credit applies to certain contributions made to a selected community development corporation before June 30, 1999. For more information, see Form 8847. Credit for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid on certain employee tips (Form 8846). This credit is generally equal to your (employer's) portion of social security and Medicare taxes paid on tips received by employees of your food and beverage establishment where tipping is customary. The credit applies regardless of whether the food is consumed on or off your business premises. However, you cannot get credit for your part of social security and Medicare taxes on those tips that are used to meet the federal minimum wage rate that applies to the employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. For more information, see Form 8846. Credit for employer-provided childcare facilities and services (Form 8882). This credit applies to the qualified expenses you paid for employee childcare and qualified expenses you paid for childcare resource and referral services. For more information, see Form 8882. Credit for increasing research activities (Form 6765). This credit is designed to encourage businesses to increase the amounts they spend on research and experimental activities, including energy research. For more information, see Form 6765. Credit for small employer pension plan startup costs (Form 8881). This credit applies to pension plan startup costs of a new qualified defined benefit or defined contribution plan (including a 401(k) plan), SIMPLE plan, or simplified employee pension. For more information, see Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, Simple, and Qualified Plans). Disabled access credit (Form 8826). This credit is a nonrefundable tax credit for an eligible small business that pays or incurs expenses to provide access to persons who have disabilities. You must pay or incur the expenses to enable your business to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For more information, see Form 8826. Distilled spirits credit (Form 8906). This credit is available to distillers and importers of distilled spirits and eligible wholesalers of distilled spirits. For more information, see Form 8906. Empowerment zone and renewal community employment credit (Form 8844). You may qualify for this credit if you have employees and are engaged in a business in an empowerment zone or renewal community for which the credit is available. For more information, see Form 8844 and Publication 954. Energy efficient appliance credit (Form 8909). This credit is available for manufacturers of eligible appliances. For more information, see Form 8909. Energy efficient home credit (Form 8908). This credit is available for eligible contractors of certain homes sold for use as a residence. For more information, see Form 8908. Indian employment credit (Form 8845). This credit applies to qualified wages and health insurance costs you paid or incurred for qualified employees. For more information, see Form 8845 and Publication 954. Investment credit (Form 3468). The investment credit is the total of the following credits. For more information, see Form 3468.
- Rehabilitation credit.
- Energy credit.
- Qualifying advanced coal project credit.
- Qualifying gasification project credit.
How To Claim the Credit
To claim a general business credit, you will first have to get the forms you need to claim your current year business credits.
In addition to the credit form, in most cases you may also need to file Form 3800.
Who must file Form 3800? You must file Form 3800 if you have any of the credits listed above other than the work opportunity credit (Form 5884), the credit for alcohol used as a fuel (Form 6478), the renewable electricity, refined coal, and Indian coal production credit (Form 8835, Section B), the empowerment zone and renewal community employment credit (Form 8844), and the credit for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid on certain employee tips (Form 8846). Forms 5884, 6478, 8835 (Section B), 8844, and 8846 have special tax liability limits and are not reported on Form 3800. Any carryback, carryforward, and passive activity limitation of these credits is computed separately on the forms on which they are claimed. Alternative minimum tax (AMT). Although you may not owe AMT, you must still figure your tentative minimum tax on Form 6251 if you claim a general business credit. After you fill in Form 6251, attach it to your tax return.