The Internal Revenue Service continues to seek feedback regarding the draft instructions for Form 6765 and is extending the dates for reporting requirements related to the Credit for Increasing Research Activities, a.k.a. the research credit.
After publishing drafts of the Form 6765 and related instructions last year, the IRS received comments in which external stakeholders requested additional time to share feedback. The agency has decided to extend the comment period for the draft instructions through March 31.
Interested parties may submit feedback about the Form 6765 instructions to
The IRS expects to release revised Form 6765 instructions for tax year 2025 (processing year 2026) in January 2026.
Sec. G of Form 6765 will be optional for all filers for tax year 2025.
For tax year 2026 (processing year 2027) and beyond, Sec. G will be mandatory for all filers with optional reporting for:
- Qualified small-business taxpayers, defined in IRC Sec. 41(h)(3) who check the box to claim a reduced payroll tax credit; or
- Taxpayers with total qualified research expenses equal to or less than $1.5 million, determined at the control group level and equal to or less than $50 million of gross receipts, as determined under Section 448(c)(3) (without regard to Subparagraph (A) thereof), claiming a research credit on an original filed return.
The IRS also is extending the research credit claim transition period, which gives taxpayers 45 days to perfect a research credit claim for refund prior to the IRS's final determination on the claim, through next Jan. 10.
To submit a claim for refund for the research credit postmarked after June 18, 2024, that is sufficient for the IRS to consider, taxpayers must:
- Identify all the business components to which the Sec. 41 research credit claim relates for that year;
- Identify all research activities performed for each business component; and,
- Provide the total qualified employee wage expenses, total qualified supply expenses and total qualified contract research expenses for the claim year.
