CAtax_creditpct_of_investment

California Research Tax Credit

RESEARCH · California

Summary

Credit equal to a percentage of qualified research expenditures. Base rate of 24% on qualified research spend; 15% on basic research payments to universities. Non-refundable; indefinite carryforward. Builds on federal IRC Section 41 definitions.

Benefit

Percentage: —
Flat: —
Duration: —
Max annual: — (taxpayer)
Max total: — (taxpayer)
Carryforward: —

Program metadata

Distribution: taxpayer_earned
Claimant subject: business
Refund/transfer election: none
Program family: —
Effective: —
Sunset: —
Application deadline: —
Transfer discount: —

Hard requirements (1)

industry_keywordActivities must constitute qualified research under federal IRC Section 41 (or qualifying basic research payments to universities)

Preference / tiering rules (0)

None.

NAICS industries (1)

00 All industries (per IRC §41)

Geo zones (0)

Statewide / none specified.

Tags (2)

federal_reference: irc_section_41
notes: Builds on federal IRC §41; carryforward mechanics deferred to future_proposals §1

Tax bases

corporate_income_taxprimary

Source

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/credit-table.html

FTB Form 3523 (California R&D Tax Credit)

Last verified: 2026-04-15

Incorporates federal IRC §41 qualified research definitions and limitations. Rate per Form 3523 should be verified at benefit-computation time.