Filing guide, cited to official New Jersey sources
How to claim the New Jersey R&D credit
These steps, forms and dates are procedure taken from official New Jersey publications, listed under "Sources for this section" and verified on . The rate, base and carryforward figures on this page come from Ricerca's rules registry.
Step by step
- 1 Compute the federal credit first. New Jersey requires the same method you used for the qualified research expense portion of the federal credit: the regular method goes on Part III of Form 306, the alternative simplified credit on Part IV.
- 2 Use New Jersey amounts only: wages, supplies, computer rental and the applicable percentage of contract research for research performed in New Jersey. Leave out expenses already used for the federal orphan drug credit.
- 3 Total the credit on Part V at New Jersey's fixed rate, and report any carryforward from earlier periods as computed under the law for those periods, without recomputing it.
- 4 Work out the allowable amount on Part VI (CBT-100 and CBT-100S filers) or Part VII (combined return filers on CBT-100U). The credit cannot reduce the tax below the statutory minimum tax.
- 5 Attach Form 306 and a copy of federal Form 6765 as filed with the IRS to the return. Include Form 306 for the year the credit is earned even if you do not use any of it that year.
- 6 A partnership completes Parts I through V, attaches Form 306 to its NJ-CBT-1065, and states each corporate partner's share on Schedule NJK-1. The corporate partner claims that share on its own Form 306.
Federal Form 6765, line by line Estimate the federal credit State R&D credits in 2026: rates and refundability
Key dates
- Credit year
- Form 306 goes with the Corporation Business Tax return for the privilege period or tax year in which the credit is earned, even if none of it is used that year. Source
- NJEDA transfer program window
- Applications open in May and are due June 30, and the applicant's Corporation Business Tax returns must also be filed by June 30. The 2026 cycle closed June 30, 2026; NJEDA says the 2027 cycle opens in early May 2027. Source
Which form to file
| Form | Who files it | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Form 306, Research and Development Tax Credit306 | Corporations filing Form CBT-100, CBT-100S or CBT-100U; a partnership completes it with its NJ-CBT-1065 for its corporate partners | Official page |
| Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer (NOL) Program applicationNJEDA online application | Eligible technology and biotechnology businesses selling unused New Jersey R&D credits or net operating losses | Official page |
Who can claim it
- Form 306 is a Corporation Business Tax form: a corporation claiming the credit completes it and submits it with its return.
- A New Jersey S corporation may use the credit against its own Corporation Business Tax liability, but the credit does not pass through to shareholders.
- A partnership cannot use the credit itself. Its corporate partners use their proportionate shares.
- On a combined return, the member that earned or purchased the credit completes Form 306. Members may choose not to share their credits with the group.
- Amounts used for the R&D credit cannot also be counted toward the Recycling Equipment, Manufacturing Equipment and Employment Investment, New Jobs Investment, or Angel Investor tax credits.
Program rules worth knowing
- Through NJEDA's Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, approved technology and biotechnology businesses can sell unused New Jersey R&D tax credits and net operating losses to unrelated profitable corporations for at least 80% of their value, up to a lifetime maximum of $20 million per business. Up to $75 million is available each year, with $15 million set aside for businesses in Innovation Zones or Opportunity Zones or certified as minority or woman owned.
- NJEDA's eligibility tests include a New Jersey headquarters or base of operations, fewer than 225 US employees including parents and subsidiaries, a minimum number of full-time New Jersey employees that rises with company age, no positive net operating income on either of the last two full-year GAAP income statements, and protected proprietary intellectual property.
- A buyer claims purchased credits on its own Form 306 in the same manner as credits it earned, and attaches the transfer certificate.
- Form 306's instructions note that taxpayers claiming the credit for New Jersey qualified research expenditures can deduct those New Jersey expenditures in the same year rather than amortizing them.
New Jersey R&D tax credit FAQ
Who can claim the New Jersey R&D tax credit?
What do I attach to Form 306?
Can I sell New Jersey R&D tax credits?
Can the credit reduce my Corporation Business Tax to zero?
Do I still have to amortize New Jersey research costs?
Sources for this section
The New Jersey filing guide and FAQ above are drawn from these official publications and were verified on . They are re-checked each year and whenever a listed deadline passes.
New Jersey R&D credit rules for TY2026
Each row is a field from the registry entry our engine applies. A blank field says so; it is never filled in.
- Credit for TY2026
- Current credit Yes. Our rules registry carries a current New Jersey research credit for tax year 2026.
- Structure
- Incremental: the credit applies to qualified research expenses above a state base amount
- Credit rate
- 10% of qualified research expenses above the base amount
- Base method
- The state adopts the federal §41 base computation, applied to New Jersey qualified research expenses.
- Carryforward
- 7 years
- Carryback
- None recorded
- Refundable?
- Not determined in our registry - we confirm it in the study The registry treats an unverified "nonrefundable" as unknown rather than asserting it.
- State form
- Form 306
- Statute
- N.J.S.A. 54:10A-5.24 (federal §41 conformity per P.L. 2018, c.48)
How the New Jersey credit is computed
The New Jersey credit is incremental: it applies to the qualified research expenses that exceed a state base amount, not to the whole year's spending. The registry carries a rate of 10%.
The state adopts the federal §41 base computation, applied to New Jersey qualified research expenses.
Unused credit carries forward 7 years. Refundability: not determined in our registry, so the study confirms it against the statute rather than asserting it here.
Ricerca computes the New Jersey figure from the same substantiated expenses as the federal §41 credit, under the registry entry for the year claimed. Where the registry is silent, the study says so and the point is resolved with your return preparer, not assumed.
Claiming it alongside the federal credit
The federal §41 credit comes first: it is computed from the qualified research expenses the study substantiates and filed on Form 6765 with the return. The New Jersey credit is then computed from that same base under the state's own rules.
State credits generally reach only research performed in the state, so the study records where each expense was incurred as it is built, not at filing time.
One base, two computations
- 1 Qualify the activities under the four-part test and total the year's QREs.
- 2 Compute the federal §41 credit and file it on Form 6765.
- 3 Apply the New Jersey entry above to the New Jersey share of that base, and file it on Form 306.
Registry sources
The citations the New Jersey registry entry carries, verbatim: what the study cites and a reviewer can check.
- Statute
- N.J.S.A. 54:10A-5.24 (federal §41 conformity per P.L. 2018, c.48)
- Form
- Form 306
Registry entry version 2024.1, exported from services/study-api/app/engines/rules_engine.py (STATE_RULES_2024 + STATE_RULES_REGIME_OVERRIDES via RulesEngine.get_state_rules) on September 10, 2026. The entry above governs TY2026; a study for an earlier year uses that year's entry.
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