Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 3800 is the General Business Credit form. The 2025 instructions say you file it, with the credit source forms, to claim any general business credit. Credits are limited to tax liability, and unused credits are generally carried back 1 year and forward 20 years.
Quick reference
| Item | As the IRS form or instructions state it |
|---|---|
| Form and year read | Form 3800 (2025), General Business Credit, with its 2025 instructions |
| Who files | “You must file Form 3800 and the credit source form(s) to claim any of the general business credits.” |
| Carryback and carryforward | “In general, unused general business credits may be carried back 1 year and carried forward 20 years.” |
| Line 13 figure | “Enter 25% (0.25) of the excess, if any, of line 12 (line 11 for corporations) over $25,000.” |
| Eligible small business receipts test | “cannot exceed $50 million.” |
| Where an individual reports line 38 | “Individuals. Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 6a.” |
| Layout of the form | Items A and B, then Parts I to VI, with the lines numbered 1 to 38 in Parts I and II |
What Form 3800 is for and who files it
The instructions answer the filing question in one sentence: “You must file Form 3800 and the credit source form(s) to claim any of the general business credits.” For sole proprietors, rental owners and partners, the credit itself is figured on a separate form for each credit, and Form 3800 combines the results.
Partners are treated differently from the people who run the entity. The instructions say “Partnerships and S corporations must generally complete the source credit form.” For everyone else, “All other filers whose only source for a credit listed in Form 3800, Part III, is from a partnership, S corporation, estate, trust, or cooperative, report the credit directly on Form 3800.”
The form’s own first line of guidance on order of work is “Complete applicable portions of Parts III and IV before Parts I and II.”
Where the result goes and when to file
The form is a schedule to the income tax return, so it is filed with that return. For an individual, the credit allowed after the limits is carried from line 38 as follows: “Individuals. Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 6a.”
The form says to “You must include all pages of Form 3800 with your return.” The instructions treat the 2025 form as the one to use for 2025 credits and add a reminder that “If you intend to make an elective payment election (EPE) and/or a transfer election on Form 3800, you must complete pre-filing registration before you file your tax return.”
The parts and lines of Form 3800
Part III lists the current year credits one line at a time, each tied to a source form. The lines run from 1a to 1zz, and column (g) is described in the instructions as “Column (g) combines non-passive credits from column (e) with amounts transferred in or out, shown in column (f).”
Part II is where the tax limit is applied. Line 7 for individuals reads “Enter the sum of the amounts from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 16; and Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 1z.” Line 13 uses “Enter 25% (0.25) of the excess, if any, of line 12 (line 11 for corporations) over $25,000.” Line 17 gives the first result: “Enter the smaller of line 6 or line 16.”
Part IV is headed “Carryovers of General Business Credits (GBCs) (see instructions)”. Part V is headed “Breakdown of Aggregate Amounts on Part III for Facility-by-Facility, Multiple Pass-Through Entities, etc.” and Part VI is headed “Breakdown of Aggregate Amounts in Part IV (see instructions)”. The instructions also note “Part II was renamed to “Figuring Credit Allowed After Limitations.””
Credit order, carrybacks and small business tests
The ordering rule is first in, first out. The instructions say “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.” In any year the order is “Carryforwards to that year, the earliest ones first;” “The general business credit earned in that year; and” “The carryback to that year.”
Among the component credits, the instructions list items such as “Work opportunity credit (Form 5884).” “Credit for increasing research activities (Form 6765).” “Disabled access credit (Form 8826).” and “Credit for small employer health insurance premiums (Form 8941).” The refueling property credit from Form 8911 is on the same list.
On the limit itself, the instructions say “Your general business credit is limited to your tax liability.” For the research credit and the eligible small business credits, an eligible small business includes “A sole proprietorship.” The test is that “The average annual gross receipts of the corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship for the 3-tax-year period preceding the tax year of the credit cannot exceed $50 million.”
Where to go next
The alternative fuel refueling credit that feeds this form is on the Form 8911 instructions page. Individuals with passive credits can read the Form 8582 page, the AMT figures are on the Form 6251 page, and the line 6a entry is explained on the Schedule 3 lines 6a to 6e page.
Where this comes from
The editions read for this page are Form 3800 (2025) and the Instructions for Form 3800 and Schedule A (2025), which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you file, because a later revision can change the lines, the columns and the credit order. This page describes Form 3800 (2025), General Business Credit; Instructions for Form 3800 (2025), as served on irs.gov on October 19, 2026. The IRS can revise a form after we read it, and the form you file and its own instructions control. Current and earlier revisions are listed on the IRS page Forms, Instructions and Publications. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Thinking each credit form stands alone. The instructions say “You must file Form 3800 and the credit source form(s) to claim any of the general business credits.”
- Reading a credit as refundable because it is large. The instructions say “Your general business credit is limited to your tax liability.”
- Using the newest credit first. The instructions order credits on a “first-in, first-out basis”, so the earliest carryforwards go first.
- Assuming one carryback length for every credit. The general rule is 1 year back and 20 years forward, while the instructions give 5 years back for marginal oil and gas well credits.
Related: Form 8911 instructions, Form 8582, Form 6251, Schedule 3 lines 6a to 6e, and Form 1040-X.
Sources
- Form 3800 (2025), General Business Credit: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3800.pdf
- Instructions for Form 3800 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i3800.pdf
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS form and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.