General Business Credit

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Instructions for Form 3800

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2006

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 3800
General Business Credit
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

What’s New
• If your only source of credits listed on
Form 3800 is from pass-through
entities, you may not be required to
complete the source credit form.
Instead, you may be able to report the
credit directly on Form 3800. For more
details, see Part I — Current Year Credit
on page 2.
• Line 1f, relating to the Enhanced Oil
Recovery Credit (Form 8830), is to be
completed only by those taxpayers who
are not partnerships or S corporations,
and whose only source of this credit is
from those pass-through entities.
• We added new line 1u to
accommodate the energy efficient
appliance credit (new section 45M).
• We added new line 1y to
accommodate the mine rescue team
training credit (new section 45N).
• We deleted Schedule A — Additional
General Business Credit Allowed by
Code Section 38(c)(2) because this
provision has expired.

General Instructions
Who Must File
You must file Form 3800 to claim any of
the general business credits (GBC)
listed on lines 1a through 1aa. Three of
the general business credits have
special tax liability limits and are not
reported on Form 3800. These are:

• The empowerment zone and renewal

community employment credit from
Form 8844;
• The alcohol fuel credit from Form
6478; and
• The renewable electricity, refined
coal, and Indian coal production credit
from Section B of Form 8835.

Carryback and
Carryforward of Unused
Credit
If you cannot use part or all of the credit
because of the tax liability limit (line 19
is less than line 8), carry the unused
credit back one tax year. To carry back
an unused credit, file an amended

return (Form 1040X, 1120X, or other
amended return) for the prior tax year
or an application for tentative refund
(Form 1045, Application for Tentative
Refund, or Form 1139, Corporation
Application for Tentative Refund).
Generally, if you file an application for a
tentative refund, it must be filed by the
end of the tax year following the tax
year in which the credit arose.
Note. No part of the unused credit for
any year attributable to any credit shall
be carried back to any tax year before
the first tax year for which that credit
was first allowable. See the Credit
Ordering Rule to determine which
credits are allowed first.
If you have an unused credit after
carrying it back, carry it forward to each
of the 20 tax years after the year of the
credit. Any qualified business credits
(as defined in section 196(c)) that are
unused after the last tax year of the
20-year carryforward period (or at the
time an individual taxpayer dies or other
taxpayer, such as a corporation or
partnership, ceases to exist) may be
taken as a deduction in the earlier of:
• The tax year following the last tax
year of the 20-year carryforward period
or
• The tax year in which the individual
taxpayer dies or other taxpayer ceases
to exist.
For purposes of this special
deduction, you can take into account
only half of the investment credit (other
than the rehabilitation credit or a credit
to which section 48(q)(3) applies as in
effect prior to repeal by the Revenue
Reconciliation Act of 1990).

Change in Filing or Marital
Status
Your general business credit is limited
to your tax liability. Therefore, if you
filed a joint return in a carryback or
carryforward year and your marital
status or filing status has changed, you
may need to figure your separate tax
liability in that carryback or carryforward
year. This would apply if:
• You filed as single in the credit year,
but filed a joint return in the carryback
or carryforward year;
• You filed a joint return in the credit
year, but filed a joint return with a
different spouse in the carryback or
carryforward year; or
Cat. No. 10622Q

• You were married and filed a

separate return in the credit year, but
filed a joint return with the same or a
different spouse in the carryback or
carryforward year.

Determine your separate tax liability
in the carryback or carryforward year as
follows.
1. Figure your tax for the carryback
or carryforward year as though you
were married filing a separate return.
2. Figure your spouse’s tax in that
year as though he or she was married
filing a separate return.
3. Add the amounts in steps 1 and
2.
4. Divide the amount in step 1 by
the amount in step 3. The result should
be rounded to at least three decimal
places.
5. Multiply the decimal in step 4 by
the total tax shown on your joint return
for the carryback or carryforward year.
The result is your separate tax liability
and a carryback or carryforward credit
is applied against this amount only.
Although your carryback or
carryforward of the credit is limited to
your separate tax liability, the amount
of your refund resulting from the
carryback or carryforward is further
limited to your share of the joint
overpayment. This is found by
subtracting your separate tax liability
(as determined above) from your
contribution toward the payment.
Unless you have an agreement or
clear evidence of each spouse’s
contribution toward the payment of the
joint liability, your contribution includes
the tax withheld on your wages and
your share of the joint estimated tax or
tax paid with the return. Your share of
these payments is found by using the
same formula used in determining your
separate tax liability. Substitute the joint
estimated tax, or tax paid with the
return, for the tax in step 5. If the
original return for the carryback year
resulted in an overpayment, reduce
your contribution by your share of the
refund.
Attach a copy of the computation to
your amended return or application for
tentative refund.

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Instructions for Form 3800

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Credit Ordering Rule
General business credits reported on
Form 3800 are treated as used on a
first-in, first-out basis by offsetting the
earliest-earned credits first. Therefore,
the order in which the credits are used
in any tax year is:
• Carryforwards to that year, the
earliest ones first,
• The general business credit earned
in that year, and
• The carryback to that year.
When relevant, the components of
the general business credit reported on
Form 3800 arising in a single tax year
are used in the following order.
• Investment credit (in the following
order — rehabilitation credit, energy
credit, qualifying advanced coal project
credit, and qualifying gasification
project credit).
• Work opportunity credit (including
any jobs credit carryforward).
• Welfare-to-work credit.
• Credit for increasing research
activities.
• Low-income housing credit.
• Enhanced oil recovery credit.
• Disabled access credit.
• Renewable electricity production
credit.
• Indian employment credit.
• Credit for employer social security
and Medicare taxes paid on certain
employee tips.
• Orphan drug credit.
• New markets credit.
• Credit for small employer pension
plan startup costs.
• Credit for employer-provided child
care facilities and services.
• Qualified railroad track maintenance
credit.
• Biodiesel and renewable diesel fuels
credit.
• Low sulfur diesel fuel production
credit.
• Distilled spirits credit.
• Nonconventional source fuel credit.
• Energy efficient home credit.
• Energy efficient appliance credit.
• Alternative motor vehicle credit.
• Alternative fuel vehicle refueling
property credit.
• Credits for employers affected by
Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma.
• Mine rescue team training credit.
• Credit for contributions to selected
community development corporations.
• General credits from an electing
large partnership.
Although these credits are
aggregated on Form 3800, keep a
separate record of each credit to
ensure that no credits or deductions are
squandered or duplicated.

Specific Instructions
Part I—Current Year
Credit
Complete and attach the appropriate
credit forms 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 on 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, 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,
Schedule J, line 5c.

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 2006 of
unused credits that are reported on
Form 3800. Include any carryforward to
2006 of any unused credit from your
Form 6478, Credit for Alcohol Used as
Fuel, for years prior to 2005.
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
2006 return to carry back unused
credits from 2007.

Line 8
If this line is zero, skip Part II.

Line 1a
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 in
excess of line 18. While any excess is
allocated to patrons, any credit
recapture applies as if you as the
cooperative had claimed the entire
credit.

Part II—Allowable Credit

Line 1f

Although you may not owe AMT, you
generally must still compute the
tentative minimum tax (TMT) to figure
your credit. For a small corporation
exempt from the AMT under section
55(e), enter zero. Otherwise, complete
and attach the appropriate AMT form or
schedule and enter the TMT on line 16.

Complete this line only if you received a
credit on a 2005 Schedule K-1 that you
received from a partnership or S
corporation that had a fiscal year
beginning in 2005.

Line 1z
Enter the total of the amounts shown in
box 7 of the Schedules K-1 (Form
1065-B) 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.

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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

Line 19
If line 19 is smaller than line 8, see
Carryback and Carryforward of Unused
Credit on page 1.
Research credit limitation. If you are
an individual, the amount of the
research credit that may be included on
line 19 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:

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Instructions for Form 3800

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Taxable income attributes 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 line 19 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, and take into account any
passive activity credit limitations. Write
“Sec. 41(g)” on the dotted line next to
your entry on line 19.
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 line 19, and
write “Sec. 383” or “Sec. 384” in the
margin next to your entry on line 19.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.
We ask for the information on this form
to carry out the Internal Revenue laws
of the United States. You are required
to give us the information. We need it to
ensure that you are complying with
these laws and to allow us to figure and
collect the right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the
information requested on a form that is
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions
must be retained as long as their
contents may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue

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law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required
by Internal Revenue Code section
6103.
The time needed to complete and
file this form will vary depending on
individual circumstances. The
estimated burden for individual
taxpayers filing this form is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0074
and is included in the estimates shown
in the instructions for their individual
income tax return. The estimated
burden for all other taxpayers who file
this form is shown below.
Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . .

17 hr., 56 min.

Learning about the
law or the form . . . . . . . . . .

1 hr., 23 min.

Preparing and sending
the form to the IRS . . . . . . .

1 hr., 42 min.

If you have comments concerning
the accuracy of these time estimates or
suggestions for making this form
simpler, we would be happy to hear
from you. See the instructions for the
tax return with which this form is filed.