IRS Publishes Revised Form 6765

The 2024 IRS Form 6765 and accompanying instructions were published to the IRS website on February 19, 2025.  The new form provides for more detailed reporting when claiming the federal Research and Development Tax Credit.   

The additional requirements for the new Form 6765 include responses to some general questions about the business as well as the portion of qualifying payroll expense attributable to work performed by officers of the company. The new requirements also request an attachment listing details for all members of a controlled group, if applicable.  Controlled group details include entity names, FEINs, principal business activity codes, qualifying research expenses, and allocated portion of the group credit by member.    

While the new version of Form 6765 is generally applicable for businesses who are claiming the R&D income tax credit on their 2024 income tax returns, Section G (Business Component Information) remains optional until the 2025 tax year to allow businesses time to adjust to the new format. Beginning with the 2025 tax year, information in Section G will be required to be completed unless the business is a qualifying small business defined in IRC 41(h)(1) and (2), or total QREs determined at the control group level are less than $1.5 million and gross receipts are less than $50 million.   

The IRS has indicated that these new changes are part of an effort to maintain compliance and ensure the legitimacy of claims.