As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 756

2025-2026

To amend sections 5747.98 and 5751.51 and to enact section 5747.88 of the Revised Code to expand a research and development tax credit to apply to the income tax.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 5747.98 and 5751.51 be amended and section 5747.88 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 5747.88. (A) As used in this section, "qualified research expenses" has the same meaning as in section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(B) There is allowed a nonrefundable credit against a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code equal to seven per cent of the excess of (1) the qualified research expenses incurred by the taxpayer in this state in a taxable year over (2) the average annual qualified research expenses incurred by the taxpayer in this state in the three previous taxable years.

(C) A taxpayer shall claim the credit allowed under this section in the order prescribed by section 5747.98 of the Revised Code. If the amount of the credit exceeds the amount of tax otherwise due after deducting all other credits preceding the credit in the order prescribed in section 5747.98 of the Revised Code, the excess may be carried forward for not more than seven ensuing taxable years. The amount of the excess credit claimed in any such year shall be deducted from the balance carried forward to the next tax year.

(D) A taxpayer that claims a credit under this section shall retain records to substantiate the claim. Required records include those relating to any expenses used in calculating the credit and incurred in the current taxable year and in the three preceding taxable years.

The taxpayer shall retain the required records until the date that is four years after the due date for the return on which the credit was claimed or four years after the date the return was actually filed, whichever is later.

(E) The tax commissioner may audit a sample of the taxpayer's qualified research expenses over a representative period to ascertain the amount of tax credit the taxpayer may claim under this section and may issue an assessment under section 5747.13 of the Revised Code based on the audit. The commissioner shall make a good faith effort to reach an agreement with the taxpayer in selecting a representative sample. The commissioner is not, however, precluded from proceeding under this division if an agreement is not made.

(F) No credit shall be allowed under this section if the credit was available against the tax imposed by section 5751.02 of the Revised Code, except to the extent the credit was not applied against that tax.

Sec. 5747.98. (A) To provide a uniform procedure for calculating a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, a taxpayer shall claim any credits to which the taxpayer is entitled in the following order:

Either the retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum retirement income credits under divisions (C), (D), and (E) of that section;

Either the senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum distribution credit under division (G) of that section;

The dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

The credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under section 5747.27 of the Revised Code;

The twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of the Revised Code;

The joint filing credit under division (E) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The earned income credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for donations to scholarship granting organizations under section 5747.73 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic school under section 5747.75 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable vocational job credit under section 5747.057 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable job retention credit under division (B) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The enterprise zone credit under section 5709.66 of the Revised Code;

The credit for beginning farmers who participate in a financial management program under division (B) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The credit for commercial vehicle operator training expenses under section 5747.82 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable welcome home Ohio (WHO) program credit under section 122.633 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for transformational mixed use development tax credit certificate holders under section 5747.87 of the Revised Code;

The credit for selling or renting agricultural assets to beginning farmers under division (A) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The credit for purchases of qualifying grape production property under section 5747.28 of the Revised Code;

The small business investment credit under section 5747.81 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for qualified research expenses under section 5747.88 of the Revised Code;

The opportunity zone investment credit under section 5747.86 of the Revised Code;

The enterprise zone credits under section 5709.65 of the Revised Code;

The research and development credit under section 5747.331 of the Revised Code;

The credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable Ohio low-income housing tax credit under section 5747.83 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable affordable single-family home credit under section 5747.84 of the Revised Code;

The nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical production credit under section 5747.66 of the Revised Code;

The refundable jobs creation credit or job retention credit under division (A) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit for taxes paid by a qualifying entity granted under section 5747.059 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credits for taxes paid by a qualifying pass-through entity granted under division (I) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit under section 5747.80 of the Revised Code for losses on loans made to the Ohio venture capital program under sections 150.01 to 150.10 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised Code for taxes levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code paid by an electing pass-through entity.

(B) For any credit, except the refundable credits enumerated in this section and the credit granted under division (H) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code, the amount of the credit for a taxable year shall not exceed the taxpayer's aggregate amount of tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other credit that precedes it in the order required under this section. Any excess amount of a particular credit may be carried forward if authorized under the section creating that credit. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow a taxpayer to claim, directly or indirectly, a credit more than once for a taxable year.

Sec. 5751.51. (A) As used in this section, "qualified research expenses" has the same meaning as in section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(B)(1) For calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, a nonrefundable credit may be claimed under this chapter equal to seven per cent of the excess of (a) qualified research expenses incurred in this state by the taxpayer in the calendar year for which the credit is claimed over (b) the taxpayer's average annual qualified research expenses incurred in this state for the three preceding calendar years.

(2) The taxpayer shall claim the credit allowed under division (B)(1) of this section in the order required by section 5751.98 of the Revised Code. A credit claimed in calendar year 2008 may not be applied against the tax otherwise due under this chapter for a tax period beginning before July 1, 2008. Any credit amount in excess of the tax due under section 5751.03 of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other credits that precede the credit under this section in the order required under that section, may be carried forward for seven years, but the amount of the excess credit claimed against the tax for any tax period shall be deducted from the balance carried forward to the next tax period.

(3) No credit shall be allowed under this chapter if the credit was available against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 of the Revised Code, except to the extent the credit was not applied against such tax.

(C) In the case of a taxpayer that is a consolidated elected taxpayer or combined taxpayer, each person in the taxpayer's group shall separately calculate the credit claimed under this section using the qualified research expenses incurred by that person on a form prescribed by the tax commissioner, which shall be used by the taxpayer to claim the credit.

Such a taxpayer may only claim the credit with respect to persons included in the taxpayer's group as of the thirty-first day of December of the calendar year in which the qualified research expenses are incurred. Such a taxpayer may only claim any excess credit carried forward under division (B)(2) of this section with respect to persons included in that group as of the last day of the tax period for which the return claiming the credit is filed.

(D) A taxpayer that claims a credit under this section shall retain records to substantiate the claim. Required records include those relating to any expenses used in calculating the credit and incurred in the current calendar year and in the three preceding calendar years.

(E) The tax commissioner may audit a sample of the taxpayer's qualified research expenses over a representative period to ascertain the amount of tax credit the taxpayer may claim under this section and may issue an assessment under section 5751.09 of the Revised Code based on the audit. The commissioner shall make a good faith effort to reach an agreement with the taxpayer in selecting a representative sample. The commissioner is not, however, precluded from proceeding under this division if an agreement is not made.

(F) No credit shall be allowed under this section if the credit was available against the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, except to the extent the credit was not applied against that tax.

Section 2. That existing sections 5747.98 and 5751.51 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. The enactment by this act of section 5747.88 applies to taxable years ending on or after the effective date of this section.