Accessibility Skip to Top Navigation Skip to Main Content Home  |  Change Text Size  |  Contact IRS  |  About IRS  |  Site Map  |  Español  |  Help  

Specific Instructions

Table of Contents

Part I. Current Year Credit

Complete and attach the appropriate credit forms used to figure your current year credit. Generally, if you are a taxpayer that is not a partnership or S corporation, and your only source for a credit listed in Part I of this form is from a partnership, S corporation, estate, trust, or cooperative, you are not required to complete the source credit form or attach it to Form 3800. The following exceptions apply:

  • You are claiming the investment credit (Form 3468) or biodiesel and renewable diesel fuels credit (Form 8864).

  • The taxpayer is an estate or trust and the source credit can be allocated to beneficiaries. For more details, see the Instructions for Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, Schedule K-1, box 13.

  • The taxpayer is a cooperative and the source credit can or must be allocated to patrons. For more details, see the Instructions for Form 1120-C, U.S. Income Tax Return for Cooperative Associations, Schedule J, line 5c.

Lines 1a and 29a

If you are a cooperative described in section 1381(a), you must allocate to your patrons the investment credit in excess of your tax liability limit. Allocate to your patrons the portion, if any, of the investment credit on line 8 or line 30 in excess of line 18a or line 28, respectively. While any excess is allocated to patrons, any credit recapture applies as if you as the cooperative had claimed the entire credit.

Line 1z

Enter the total of the amounts shown in box 7 of the Schedules K-1 (Form 1065-B), Partner's Share of Income (Loss) From an Electing Large Partnership, you received from electing large partnerships (ELPs).

Line 3

Enter the credits included on line 2 that are from passive activities. Generally, a passive activity is a trade or business in which you did not materially participate. Generally, rental activities are passive activities, whether or not you materially participated. See Form 8582-CR, Passive Activity Credit Limitations, or Form 8810, Corporate Passive Activity Loss and Credit Limitations, for details.

Line 5

Enter the passive activity credit allowed from Form 8582-CR or Form 8810. See the instructions for the applicable form for details.

Line 6

Add all carryforwards to 2008 of unused credits that are reported on Form 3800, Part I. Also include any carryforward to 2008 of any unused credit from:

  • Form 3468 for years prior to 2008.

  • Form 5884 for years prior to 2007.

  • Form 6478 for years prior to 2005.

  • Form 8846 for years prior to 2007.

  • Form 8900 for years prior to 2008.

For each credit, attach a detailed computation showing: (a) the tax year the credit originated, the amount of the credit, and the amount allowed for that year; (b) for each carryback year, the year and the amount of the credit allowed after you applied the carryback; and (c) for each carryforward year, the year and the amount of the credit allowed after you applied the carryforward.

Line 7

Use line 7 only when you amend your 2008 return to carry back unused credits from 2009.

Part II. Allowable Credit

Line 15

See section 38(c)(5) for special rules that apply to married couples filing separate returns, controlled corporate groups, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and estates and trusts.

Line 16

Although you may not owe AMT, you generally must still compute the tentative minimum tax (TMT) to figure your credit. Enter zero on line 16 if:

  • You are a small corporation exempt from the AMT under section 55(e) or

  • The only general business credit you are claiming is on line 29.

Otherwise, complete and attach the appropriate AMT form or schedule and enter the TMT on line 16.

Line 18b

For its first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, a corporation can elect to accelerate its use of unused research credit carryforwards from tax years beginning before 2006 and obtain a refundable credit in lieu of the special depreciation allowance on eligible qualified property (see Eligible qualified property below). If the election is made, the corporation must do the following.

  • Forego the special depreciation allowance for eligible qualified property acquired (including manufactured, constructed, or produced) after March 31, 2008, and placed in service generally before January 1, 2009, and

  • Use the straight-line method of depreciation on such property.

This election is extended for one year to apply to property that is generally placed in service in 2009. If you made an election to increase the research credit or minimum tax credit limitations for your first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, you can choose not to have the election apply to certain extension property (defined below). Otherwise, the original election continues to apply to both eligible qualified property and extension property. However, in this case, separate bonus depreciation amounts, maximum increase amounts, and maximum amounts are computed for eligible qualified property and for extension property. If you did not make the election for your first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, you can make the election only for extension property for your first tax year ending after December 31, 2008.

S corporations that make the election to accelerate the credit can use the credit only against the built-in gains tax. For S corporations that file Form 1120-REIT, see the instructions for Schedule D (Form 1120S), line 20. S corporations that file Form 1120-REIT or Form 1120-RIC must apply the credit first against the built-in gains tax, if any, and reduce the refundable credit by the amount so applied. See the instructions for line h of the Built-in Gains Tax Worksheet in the separate instructions for those forms.

Eligible qualified property. Generally, eligible qualified property is:

  • Qualified property under section 168(k)(2) that is acquired after March 31, 2008, and placed in service before January 1, 2009, or

  • Qualified property described in either section 168(k)(2)(B) (long production period property) or section 168(k)(2)(C) (certain aircraft) that is placed in service in 2009.

This does not include property acquired pursuant to a written binding contract in effect before April 1, 2008. See section 168(k)(4)(G)(iii) for special rules for written binding contracts involving certain passenger aircraft.

Extension property. Generally, extension property is:

  • Qualified property under section 168(k)(2) that is placed in service in 2009 and that is not property described in section 168(k)(2)(B) or (C), and

  • Qualified property described in sections 168(k)(2)(B) and (C), that is placed in service in 2010.

This does not include property acquired pursuant to a written binding contract in effect before April 1, 2008.

For corporations electing to accelerate the use of unused research credit carryforwards and obtain a refundable credit in lieu of the special depreciation allowance, figure the bonus depreciation amount attributable to the research credit by using the Worksheet for Calculating the Refundable Minimum Tax Credit and Research Credit Amounts below. Separate worksheet computations must be made for eligible qualified property and for extension property. All others enter zero on line 18b.

For more information on the election to accelerate the research credit in lieu of the special depreciation allowance, see Rev. Proc. 2008-65, 2008-44 I.R.B. 1082, available at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2008-44_IRB/ar15.html, and Rev. Proc. 2009-16, 2009-6 I.R.B. 449, available at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2009-06_IRB/ar10.html. Also, for more information on the special depreciation allowance, see the Instructions for Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization, and Pub. 946, How To Depreciate Property.

Worksheet for Calculating the Refundable Minimum Tax Credit and Research Credit Amounts

      (a)
Eligible qualified property 		(b)
Extension property
1. Enter depreciation (including the special depreciation allowance) that would have been allowed for eligible qualified property or extension property (as appropriate) placed in service during the tax year if section 168(k)(1) had applied to such property. 1.    
2. Enter depreciation for eligible qualified property or extension property (as appropriate) placed in service during the tax year and figured without regard to section 168(k)(1). 2.    
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1. 3.    
4. Multiply line 3 by 20%. 4.    
5. Enter any unused research credit carryforward from tax years beginning before 2006. 5.    
6. Enter any unused minimum tax credit carryforward from tax years beginning before 2006. 6.    
7. Add line 5 and line 6. 7.    
8. Multiply line 7 by 6% 8.    
9. Enter the smaller of line 8 or $30,000,000. 9.    
10. Enter any bonus depreciation amounts determined under section 168(k)(4)(C) attributable to eligible qualified property (or extension property, as appropriate) for all preceding tax years ending after March 31, 2008. 10.    
11. Subtract line 10 from line 9. If zero or less, enter -0-. 11.    
12. Bonus depreciation amount. Enter the smaller of line 4 or line 11. 12.    
  Note: If you do not have a research credit carryforward, or if you choose not to allocate bonus depreciation amounts to research credit carryforwards, skip lines 13 and 14 and enter -0- on line 15.      
13. Enter the amount from line 10 allocated to the research credit carryforward shown on line 5. 13.    
14. Maximum bonus depreciation amount allocable to the research credit. Subtract line 13 from line 5. 14.    
15. Refundable research credit. Enter the smaller of line 14 or the amount on line 12 that you choose to allocate to the research credit. If you have a minimum tax credit, continue to line 16. All others, enter the total of line 15, columns (a) and (b), on your 2008 Form 3800, line 18b. 15.    
16. Subtract line 15 from line 12. 16.    
17. Enter the amount from line 10 allocated to the minimum tax credit carryforward shown on line 6. 17.    
18. Maximum bonus depreciation amount allocable to the minimum tax credit. Subtract line 17 from line 6. 18.    
19. Refundable minimum tax credit. Enter the smaller of line 18 or line 16 in appropriate columns. Enter the total of line 19, columns (a) and (b), on your 2008 Form 8827, line 7b. 19.    

Lines 19a and 19b

Research credit limitation.   If you are an individual, the amount of the research credit that may be included on lines 19a and 19b is limited to the amount of tax attributable to your taxable income from the sole proprietorship or your interest in the partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust (pass-through entity) generating the credit. Figure the research credit limitation separately for each business enterprise by using the following formula:
    Taxable income attributable to the sole proprietorship or your interest in the pass-through entity
(Line 13 – line 15) x
    Your taxable income for the year

  The result figured above is limited to the excess of line 13 over line 15. If in the current tax year you had no taxable income attributable to a particular business interest, you cannot claim any research credit this year related to that business.

  If your research credit is limited by the above formula, refigure the amount to enter on lines 19a and 19b using only the total of the amount calculated above for the research credit plus the general business credit from other sources. If necessary, follow the Credit Ordering Rule (see page 1), and take into account any passive activity credit limitations. Write “Sec. 41(g)” on the dotted line next to your entries on lines 19a and 19b.

Corporations.   If the corporation has undergone a post-1986 ownership change (as defined in section 382(g)), section 383 may limit the amount of tax that may be offset by pre-change general business credits. Also, if a corporation acquires control of another corporation (or acquires its assets in a reorganization), section 384 may limit the amount of tax attributable to recognized built-in gains that may be offset by pre-acquisition general business credits. If either of these limitations apply, attach a computation of the allowable general business credit, enter the amount on lines 19a and 19b, and write “Sec. 383” or “Sec. 384” in the margin next to your entries on lines 19a and 19b.

Note.

If the only credits you are claiming are listed in Part I, enter the line 19b amount on line 32 and skip lines 20 through 31.

Line 20

Form 8844 filers: multiply line 16 by 75%. All others skip lines 20 through 24 and enter zero on line 25.

Line 32

If line 32 is smaller than the sum of lines 8, 24, and 30, see Carryback and Carryforward of Unused Credit on page 1.

Prev  Up  Next
  Home  

More Online Instructions