Filing guide, cited to official Texas sources
How to claim the Texas R&D credit
These steps, forms and dates are procedure taken from official Texas 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.
Notice: Texas moved its R&D credit to new forms for 2026
Effective January 1, 2026, Subchapter M was repealed and Subchapter T established. The credit is now claimed on Form 05-182 with Form 05-181, and the refundable credit on Form 05-183. Our rules registry still records the former Subchapter M form, so the form shown on this page is the verified Subchapter T set while that registry update is pending.
Step by step
- 1 File federal Form 6765 with the IRS first. Subchapter T requires the entity to have filed its qualified research expenses on Form 6765 with the IRS for any year it claims the Texas credit, and the Texas figure is the part of the Form 6765 line 48 total attributable to research conducted in Texas.
- 2 If the entity owes franchise tax, file the long form report (Forms 05-158-A and 05-158-B) with Form 05-181, Credits Summary Schedule, and Form 05-182, the Subchapter T credits schedule.
- 3 A combined group reports its Texas qualified research expenses on Form 05-166 line 8 and on Form 05-182 line 1A, and the two amounts must match.
- 4 If the entity owes no franchise tax for one of the listed reasons, apply for the refundable credit instead: submit Form 6765 to the Comptroller with Form 05-183, and Form 05-184 for a combined group, by November 15.
- 5 Claim any Subchapter M carryforward of unused credit accrued before January 1, 2026 on lines 8 and 9 of Form 05-181.
Federal Form 6765, line by line Estimate the federal credit State R&D credits in 2026: rates and refundability
Key dates
- Subchapter T takes effect
- January 1, 2026. Subchapter M was repealed and Subchapter T established to continue R&D credits for franchise tax reports, but not for sales tax. Source
- Refundable credit application
- Form 05-183 and Form 05-184 are due on or before November 15 of the report year for a long form filer, or of the year following the accounting period a report would be based on if one were required. No Form 05-183 is accepted after the due date. Source
Which form to file
| Form | Who files it | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Form 05-182, Subchapter T Research and Development Activities Credits Schedule05-182 | Taxable entities that owe franchise tax and claim the credit, filed with the long form report (Forms 05-158-A and 05-158-B) | Official page |
| Form 05-181, Credits Summary Schedule05-181 | Filed with Form 05-182; a Subchapter M carryforward accrued before January 1, 2026 is claimed on its lines 8 and 9 | Official page |
| Form 05-183, Texas Application for Franchise Tax Subchapter T Research and Development Activities Refundable Credit05-183 | Entities that owe no franchise tax for one of the listed reasons and apply for the refundable credit; due November 15 | Official page |
| Form 05-184, Subchapter T Research and Development Activities Refundable Credit Affiliate List05-184 | Combined groups applying for the refundable credit, filed with Form 05-183 | Official page |
Who can claim it
- An entity cannot claim the credit if it, or any member of its combined group, received the sales tax exemption under Tax Code §151.3182 during the applicable reporting period.
- The refundable credit is for an entity that owes no franchise tax because it is a qualified new veteran-owned business, because the tax computed is less than $1,000, or because its annualized total revenue is at or below the No Tax Due Threshold.
- Entities that use the E-Z computation cannot take the refundable credit.
Program rules worth knowing
- Subchapter T ties the Texas credit to the federal filing: an entity must have submitted Form 6765 to the IRS for each year it claims the Texas credit.
- Amendments to Form 05-183 are accepted only before the due date, except where Tax Code §171.212(a) requires an amended form because the entity's federal qualified research expenses changed.
- Reports can be filed through Webfile or approved tax software.
Texas R&D tax credit FAQ
Which forms claim the Texas R&D credit for 2026?
Can the Texas R&D credit be refunded?
What happens to unused Subchapter M credits?
Does Texas still offer a sales tax exemption for R&D?
Sources for this section
The Texas 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.
Texas 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
- franchise
- Partially refundable no tax due
- Yes
- Credit for TY2026
- Current credit Yes. Our rules registry carries a current Texas research credit for tax year 2026.
- Structure
- Incremental: the credit applies to qualified research expenses above a state base amount
- Credit rate
- 8.722% of qualified research expenses above the base amount
- Higher rate
- 10.903% The higher rate applies where the taxable entity contracts with a Texas public or private institution of higher education (Tex. Tax Code ch. 171 subch. T); otherwise the standard rate applies. Which one governs turns on facts the study establishes.
- Fallback rate (no prior-period spend)
- 4.361% of all current-period qualified research expenses, or 5.451% at the alternative rate Applies when the taxpayer had no state qualified research expenses in one or more of the statutory preceding periods. The headline incremental rate on a zero base would pay double the statutory credit, so the registry carries the fallback instead.
- Base method
- The base amount is the formula Texas's own statute prescribes, not the federal §41(c) fixed-base computation. The registry does not carry a written description of that formula for this state, so the study establishes it against the statute cited below.
- Liability limit
- 50% of the applicable tax liability Tax liability sits outside the study, so this is a preparer determination at filing time, not something the study computes.
- Carryforward
- 20 years
- Carryback
- None recorded
- Refundable?
- Partially refundable the registry records refundability only for an entity with no tax due.
- State form
- Form 05-182 with Form 05-181 (refundable credit: Form 05-183, plus Form 05-184 for a combined group, due November 15) Registry update pending: verified against the official Texas source on September 29, 2026; it replaces an out-of-date form in the rules registry our engine reads.
- Statute
- Tex. Tax Code ch. 171 subch. T (S.B. 2206; reports due on/after 1/1/2026)
How the Texas credit is computed
The Texas 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 8.722%.
The base amount is the formula Texas's own statute prescribes, not the federal §41(c) fixed-base computation. The registry does not carry a written description of that formula for this state, so the study establishes it against the statute cited below. Where a statutory preceding period has no Texas qualified research expenses at all, the registry replaces the increment with a flat 4.361% of current-period expenses rather than applying the headline rate to a zero base.
On limits, the amount used in a year is limited to 50% of the applicable tax liability. Unused credit carries forward 20 years. Refundability: partially refundable - the registry records refundability only for an entity with no tax due.
Ricerca computes the Texas 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.
What changed for TY2026
The registry carries a separate Texas entry for each regime, so a study for TY2025 and a study for TY2026 are computed under different rules. These are the fields that differ.
| Field | TY2025 | TY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Second statutory rateSecond statutory rate changed between the two regimes. | 6.25% | 10.903% |
| Credit rateCredit rate changed between the two regimes. | 5% | 8.722% |
| RefundableThe registry records the credit as refundable for TY2026, on the terms the "Refundable?" row above records; it did not for TY2025. | No | Yes |
| Fallback rate (alternative)Fallback rate (alternative) changed between the two regimes. | 3.125% | 5.451% |
| Fallback rateFallback rate changed between the two regimes. | 2.5% | 4.361% |
| Registry flagsThe registry flags carried on this state changed. | Tax base; Wages in state | Partially refundable no tax due; Tax base |
| Refundable percentageThe share of excess credit the registry records as refundable changed. | 0% | 100% |
| StatuteThe governing citation the registry carries for TY2026 is not the one it carries for TY2025. | Tex. Tax Code §171.651-.665 (franchise-tax R&D credit) | Tex. Tax Code ch. 171 subch. T (S.B. 2206; reports due on/after 1/1/2026) |
| Registry regime versionThe registry moves Texas onto a new regime entry for TY2026. | 2024.1 | 2026.1 |
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 Texas 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 Texas entry above to the Texas share of that base, and file it on Form 05-182 with Form 05-181 (refundable credit: Form 05-183, plus Form 05-184 for a combined group, due November 15).
Registry sources
The citations the Texas registry entry carries, verbatim: what the study cites and a reviewer can check.
- Statute
- Tex. Tax Code ch. 171 subch. T (S.B. 2206; reports due on/after 1/1/2026)
- Form (registry update pending)
- Form 05-182 with Form 05-181 (refundable credit: Form 05-183, plus Form 05-184 for a combined group, due November 15)
Registry entry version 2026.1, 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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