Ohio 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.
Program flags on this entry
- Tax base
- commercial activity
- Credit for TY2026
- Current credit Yes. Our rules registry carries a current Ohio research credit for tax year 2026.
- Structure
- Incremental: the credit applies to qualified research expenses above a state base amount
- Credit rate
- 7% of qualified research expenses above the base amount
- Base method
- The base amount is the formula Ohio's own statute prescribes, not the federal §41(c) fixed-base computation. The registry carries that formula and the preparer notes that go with it; both are set out below.
- 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
- None recorded in the registry
- Statute
- Ohio Rev. Code §5751.51 (credit against the commercial activity tax)
How the Ohio credit is computed
The Ohio 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 7%.
The base amount is the formula Ohio's own statute prescribes, not the federal §41(c) fixed-base computation. The registry carries that formula and the preparer notes that go with it; both are set out below.
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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio entry above to the Ohio share of that base, and file it on the state return.
What the registry tells the preparer
These notes travel with the Ohio entry inside the platform, reproduced verbatim for the person signing the return.
- The Ohio R&D credit is claimed against the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), not the income/franchise tax: 7% of the excess of Ohio QRE over the average Ohio QRE for the 3 preceding calendar years (ORC 5751.51); unused credit carries forward 7 years. Prior-3-year Ohio QRE history must be substantiated to support the base.
Registry sources
The citations the Ohio registry entry carries, verbatim: what the study cites and a reviewer can check.
- Statute
- Ohio Rev. Code §5751.51 (credit against the commercial activity tax)
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.
See what an Ohio study could capture
Tell us what your team builds and we will come back with what a Ricerca study could capture: the federal §41 credit, the Ohio credit above it, and the §174A deduction. Free, and no obligation.