North Carolina 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
- Expired No. The registry records the North Carolina credit as expired: Former N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-129.50 et seq. (Article 3F - sunset for TY beginning on/after 1/1/2016)
- State form
- None recorded in the registry
- Statute
- Former N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-129.50 et seq. (Article 3F - sunset for TY beginning on/after 1/1/2016)
What this means for a North Carolina company
Our engine computes no North Carolina research credit for tax year 2026. The registry entry carries Former N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-129.50 et seq. (Article 3F - sunset for TY beginning on/after 1/1/2016).
That is the whole of what the registry says, and this page will not say more. What does not change is the federal position: the §41 credit is computed from the same substantiated qualified research expenses whichever state the work sits in, and a North Carolina company with qualifying research claims it on Form 6765 like anyone else.
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. A North Carolina company still claims the federal credit in full.
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 Record why no North Carolina credit is claimed, with the citation, so the file answers the question before anyone asks it.
What the registry tells the preparer
These notes travel with the North Carolina entry inside the platform, reproduced verbatim for the person signing the return.
- North Carolina's Article 3F research and development credit sunset for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and was not replaced - do not claim a NC R&D credit for current tax years. Only carryforwards of credits earned in pre-sunset years (if any remain within their carryforward period) may still be usable; verify on the prior NC-478 series filings.
Registry sources
The citations the North Carolina registry entry carries, verbatim: what the study cites and a reviewer can check.
- Statute
- Former N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-129.50 et seq. (Article 3F - sunset for TY beginning on/after 1/1/2016)
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.
The federal credit is still on the table
Tell us what your team builds and we will come back with what a Ricerca study could capture federally: the §41 credit and the §174A deduction. Free, and no obligation.