# Form 6765, section by section

> Form 6765 section by section, the order to fill it in, and the hypothetical year's entries line by line.

Source: https://lopifi.com/learn/how-to-fill-out-form-6765
Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

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**How do I fill out Form 6765, and when is Section G required?** Form 6765 section by section, the order to fill it in, and the hypothetical year's entries line by line.

[Form 6765](https://lopifi.com/md/glossary/form-6765) does four jobs: it figures the credit, makes the elections, reports the QREs and, for most claims from 2026, describes the research business component by business component. It goes with the income tax return.

| Part | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Item A | The §280C reduced credit election: yes or no, on the original timely filed return |
| Item B | Controlled group or common control? Members are one taxpayer for the credit; attach the group statement |
| Section A (lines 1–13) | The regular credit. Skipped by anyone using the ASC |
| Section B (lines 14–26) | The alternative simplified credit |
| Section C (lines 27–32) | The current year credit, and where it goes next (Form 3800) |
| Section D (lines 33–36) | The qualified small business payroll election |
| Section E (lines 37–41) | Other information: number of business components, officers' wages, acquisitions, new kinds of expense |
| Section F (lines 42–48) | The QRE summary: wages, supplies, computers, contract research |
| Section G (lines 49–56) | Business component information |

Form 6765 (Rev. December 2024), top to bottom.

> “Multiply line 23 by 14% (0.14). If you skipped lines 22 and 23, multiply line 20 by 6% (0.06)”

— [Form 6765 (Rev. December 2024), Section B, line 24](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f6765.pdf) (PDF), Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities

1. **Section G.** Decide whether Section G is required this year. If it is, fill it in first.
2. **Section F.** Enter the QREs by kind on lines 42–45; line 48 is the total. With Section G, they come from its column totals.
3. **Section E.** Line 37 counts every business component behind the QREs; line 38 the officers' wages inside line 42.
4. **Section B.** Compute the credit in Section B (or A), and answer Item A.
5. **Section C.** Carry the credit through Section C, and complete Form 3800 if you're a C corporation.
6. **Section D.** If electing the payroll credit, complete Section D.

Filling it in, in the order the instructions ask.

| Line | Entry |
| --- | --- |
| Item A: reduced credit? | Northwind's choice: see [the §280C page](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/section-174a-and-the-rd-credit/section-280c-reduced-credit) |
| Line 37: business components | One: StockMatch |
| Line 38: officers' wages in line 42 | $18,000 |
| Line 42: wages | $229,800 |
| Line 43: supplies | $2,400 |
| Line 45: contract research | $19,500 |
| Line 48: total QREs | $251,700 |
| Line 24: 6% of line 20 | $15,102 |
| Line 34: elected against payroll | $15,102 |
| Section G | not required, with the payroll election |

Northwind's hypothetical 2027 Form 6765.

> **Item A comes first, and can't be fixed later.** The §280C reduced credit election is answered at the top of the form on the original timely filed return, including extensions. It can't be made or changed on an amended return, and it's irrevocable for the year.

> “This election cannot be made or changed on an amended return. Once made, the election is irrevocable for that tax year.”

— [Instructions for Form 6765 (Rev. December 2025), Item A](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i6765.pdf) (PDF), The §280C reduced credit election

*[Figure: audit trail]*

Illustrative: the form is the record. Each line traces to the time records and invoices behind it.

> **Form 6765 is built from Section G up: business components, then QREs, then the credit, then the elections.**

In this lesson: [Section G](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/how-to-fill-out-form-6765/form-6765-section-g), the business component detail and the rules for when it's required, has a page of its own.

## Pages in this lesson

- [Section G: business component detail](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/how-to-fill-out-form-6765/form-6765-section-g) — 5 min. When is Form 6765 Section G required, and what goes in it?

## Where this lesson's rules come from

- [Form 6765 (Rev. December 2024), Section B, line 24](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f6765.pdf) (PDF) — Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities (form)
- [Instructions for Form 6765 (Rev. December 2025), Item A](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i6765.pdf) (PDF) — The §280C reduced credit election (irs)

## Read further

- https://lopifi.com/md/startups/rd-tax-credit-and-section-174
- https://lopifi.com/md/startups/form-1120-what-to-give-your-tax-preparer
- https://lopifi.com/md/accounting/rd-tax-credit
- https://lopifi.com/md/accounting/form-1120

- **Track:** [R&D tax credit](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/rd-credit)
- **Lesson:** Lesson 6 of 9 — 8 min
- **Terms taught:** [Form 6765](https://lopifi.com/md/glossary/form-6765), [Qualified research expenses](https://lopifi.com/md/glossary/qualified-research-expenses), [Reduced credit election](https://lopifi.com/md/glossary/reduced-credit-election)
- **Previous:** [Form 8974, quarter by quarter, R&D credit · Lesson 5](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/rd-credit-against-payroll-tax/form-8974-quarter-by-quarter)
- **Next:** [Section G: business component detail](https://lopifi.com/md/learn/how-to-fill-out-form-6765/form-6765-section-g)
- **The course:** https://lopifi.com/md/learn