Federal Credit for Increasing Research Activities
Extracted from PDF file 2025-federal-form-6765.pdf, last modified February 2025Credit for Increasing Research Activities
6765 Form (Rev. December 2024) Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Credit for Increasing Research Activities OMB No. 1545-0619 Attach to your tax return. Go to www.irs.gov/Form6765 for instructions and the latest information. Attachment Sequence No. 676 Identifying number Name(s) shown on return A Are you electing the reduced credit under section 280C? See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes No B Are you a member of a controlled group or business under common control? . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes No If “Yes,” complete and attach the required statement. See instructions for required attachment. Section A—Regular Credit. Skip this section and go to Section B if you are electing or previously elected (and are not revoking) the alternative simplified credit. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Certain amounts paid or incurred to energy consortia (see instructions) . . . . . . . . Basic research payments to qualified organizations (see instructions) . . . 2 Qualified organization base period amount . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Subtract line 3 from line 2. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Note: Complete Section F before going to line 5. Total qualified research expenses (QREs). Enter amount from line 48 . . . 5 Enter fixed-base percentage, but not more than 16% (0.16). See instructions 6 Enter average annual gross receipts. See instructions . . . . . . . . 7 Multiply line 7 by the percentage on line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Subtract line 8 from line 5. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . 9 Multiply line 5 by 50% (0.50) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Enter the smaller of line 9 or line 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add lines 1, 4, and 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you elect to reduce the credit under section 280C, then multiply line 12 by 15.8% (0.158). multiply line 12 by 20% (0.20) and see instructions for the statement that must be attached . . . . 1 . . 4 % . . . . If not, . . 11 12 Certain amounts paid or incurred to energy consortia (see the line 1 instructions) . . . . . . . Basic research payments to qualified organizations (see the line 2 instructions) 15 Qualified organization base period amount (see the line 3 instructions) . . . 16 Subtract line 16 from line 15. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add lines 14 and 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multiply line 18 by 20% (0.20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Note: Complete Section F before going to line 20. 20 Total qualified research expenses (QREs). Enter amount from line 48 . . . Enter your total QREs for the prior 3 tax years. If you had no QREs in any 1 of those years, skip lines 22 and 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Divide line 21 by 6.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Subtract line 22 from line 20. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . 23 Multiply line 23 by 14% (0.14). If you skipped lines 22 and 23, multiply line 20 by 6% (0.06) . . . . Add lines 19 and 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you elect to reduce the credit under section 280C, then multiply line 25 by 79% (0.79). If not, enter the amount from line 25 and see the line 13 instructions for the statement that must be attached . . 14 13 Section B—Alternative Simplified Credit. Skip this section if you are completing Section A. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see separate instructions. Cat. No. 13700H 17 18 19 24 25 26 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Page 2 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Section C—Current Year Credit 27 28 29 30 31 32 Enter the portion of the credit from Form 8932, line 2, that is attributable to wages that were also used to figure the credit on line 13 or line 26 (whichever applies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subtract line 27 from line 13 or line 26 (whichever applies). If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . Credit for increasing research activities from partnerships, S corporations, estates, and trusts . . . Add lines 28 and 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Estates and trusts, go to line 31. • Partnerships and S corporations not electing the payroll tax credit, stop here and report this amount on Schedule K. • Partnerships and S corporations electing the payroll tax credit, complete Section D and report on Schedule K the amount on this line reduced by the amount on line 36. • Eligible small businesses, stop here and report the credit on Form 3800, Part III, line 4i. See instructions for the definition of eligible small business. • Filers other than eligible small businesses, stop here and report the credit on Form 3800, Part III, line 1c. Note: Qualified small business filers, other than partnerships and S corporations, electing the payroll tax credit must complete Form 3800 before completing Section D. Amount allocated to beneficiaries of the estate or trust (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . Estates and trusts, subtract line 31 from line 30. For eligible small businesses, report the credit on Form 3800, Part III, line 4i. See instructions. For filers other than eligible small businesses, report the credit on Form 3800, Part III, line 1c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 28 29 30 31 32 Section D—Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Election and Payroll Tax Credit. Skip this section if the payroll tax election does not apply. See instructions. 33a Check this box if you are a qualified small business electing the payroll tax credit. See instructions b Check the box if payroll tax is reported on a different EIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Enter the portion of line 28 elected as a payroll tax credit (do not enter more than $500,000). See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 35 General business credit carryforward from the current year. See instructions. Partnerships and S corporations, skip this line and go to line 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 36 Partnerships and S corporations, enter the smaller of line 28 or line 34. All others, enter the smallest of line 28, line 34, or line 35. Enter here and on the applicable line of Form 8974, Part 1, column (e). Members of controlled groups or businesses under common control, see instructions for the statement that must be attached . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Section E—Other Information. See instructions. 37 38 39 40 41 Enter the number of business components generating the QREs on line 5 or line 20 . . . . . . Enter the amount of officers’ wages included on line 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Did you acquire or dispose of any major portion of a trade or business in the tax year? Yes No Did you include any new categories of expenses as current year QREs? . . . . Yes No Did you determine any of the QREs on line 5 or line 20 following the ASC 730 Directive? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes No If “Yes,” enter the amount from Appendix C Line 19 (you may attach your Appendices A, B, C, and D here) This ASC 730 Directive only applies to taxpayers with assets equal to or greater than $10,000,000 who follow U.S. GAAP to prepare their Certified Audited Financial Statements showing the amount of currently expensed Financial Statement R&D. See instructions. 37 38 41 Section F—Qualified Research Expenses Summary. See instructions. A Are you required to complete Section G? See instructions to determine if you are required to complete Section G, and how to complete Section F if you are not required to complete Section G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes No 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Total wages for qualified services for all business components (do not include any wages used figuring the work opportunity credit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total costs of supplies for all business components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total rental or lease cost of computers for all business components . . . . . . . . . . Total applicable amount of contract research for all business components (do not include basic research payments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Enter the applicable amount of all basic research payments. See instructions . 46 Add line 45 and line 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add lines 42, 43, 44, and 47, then enter line 48 on either line 5 or line 20, whichever is appropriate in . . . 42 43 44 . . 47 48 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Page 3 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Section G—Business Component Information. Complete lines 49(a) through 49(f) for each business component you are required to report. See instructions. Attach additional sheets if necessary to capture all business components. BC 49(a) EIN of the controlled group member conducting the research activities on this business component 49(b) Controlled group member’s principal business activity code 49(c) Business component’s name or unique alphanumeric identifier (see instructions) 49(d) Business component type (select one from available options) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 BC 49(e) Software (if applicable, select from the available options) 49(f) Describe the information sought to be discovered. Use the space provided. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Page 4 Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024) Section G—Business Component Information (continued). Complete lines 50 through 56 for each business component. If you have more than fifteen business components, see instructions. BC 50 Direct research wages for qualified services 51 Direct supervision wages for qualified services 52 Direct support wages for qualified services 53 Total qualified wages (add line 50, line 51, and line 52) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total from attachments Total BC 54 Cost of supplies 55 Rental or lease cost of computers 56 Applicable amount of contract research expenses (see instructions for reporting basic research payments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total from attachments Total Form 6765 (Rev. 12-2024)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2024)
More about the Federal Form 6765 Corporate Income Tax Tax Credit TY 2025
We last updated the Credit for Increasing Research Activities in January 2026, so this is the latest version of Form 6765, fully updated for tax year 2025. You can download or print current or past-year PDFs of Form 6765 directly from TaxFormFinder. You can print other Federal tax forms here.
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The Internal Revenue Service usually releases income tax forms for the current tax year between October and January, although changes to some forms can come even later. We last updated Federal Form 6765 from the Internal Revenue Service in January 2026.
Form 6765 is a Federal Corporate Income Tax form. States often have dozens of even hundreds of various tax credits, which, unlike deductions, provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax liability. Some common tax credits apply to many taxpayers, while others only apply to extremely specific situations. In most cases, you will have to provide evidence to show that you are eligible for the tax credit, and calculate the amount of the credit to which you are entitled.
About the Corporate Income Tax
The IRS and most states require corporations to file an income tax return, with the exact filing requirements depending on the type of company.
Sole proprietorships or disregarded entities like LLCs are filed on Schedule C (or the state equivalent) of the owner's personal income tax return, flow-through entities like S Corporations or Partnerships are generally required to file an informational return equivilent to the IRS Form 1120S or Form 1065, and full corporations must file the equivalent of federal Form 1120 (and, unlike flow-through corporations, are often subject to a corporate tax liability).
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Historical Past-Year Versions of Federal Form 6765
We have a total of fourteen past-year versions of Form 6765 in the TaxFormFinder archives, including for the previous tax year. Download past year versions of this tax form as PDFs here:
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2024)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2023)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2023)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2020)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2020)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2020)
Form 6765 (Rev. December 2019)
(Rev. March 2018) Form 6765
2016 Form 6765
2012 Form 6765
2011 Form 6765
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