IRS Form 3468 · 2025 tax year

Form 3468 when you sell an investment credit

Form 3468 figures the credit the same way whether you keep it or sell it. Selling adds a registration number, a complete form for each property, and a total that is carried to Form 3800.

Verified 11 Oct 2026 · page reviewed 11 Oct 2026

This page follows the 2025 Form 3468 instructions, the latest final version when we checked. Use the version for the tax year you are filing.

Which part holds a credit you can sell

Only three parts of Form 3468 hold transferable credits. You can elect to transfer all or part of the credit figured in Part III, Part V or Part VI to an unrelated buyer for cash^[1].

Lines from the 2025 Form 3468 instructions^[1] and Form 3800^[2]. Part IV, the §48D advanced manufacturing investment credit, can be taken as an elective payment but is not on the transfer list^[3].

What selling changes on the form

• Register every property first. If you will make a transfer election on Form 3800 for a credit in Part III, V or VI, you must complete pre-filing registration for each property or facility before you file^[1]. See registration.
• Registration number on Part I, line 1. Enter the IRS-issued number for the facility or property^[1].
• Complete every applicable line. If you elect to transfer a §48C, §48E or §48 credit, you must complete all applicable parts and lines of Form 3468, including the registration number on Part I, line 1, to compute the credit amount^[1].
• One form per property for pass-throughs. S corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts attach a separate Form 3468 for each facility or property, even when they elected to transfer the credit^[1].
• The sold credit is not passed to the owners. The distributive-share information given to partners, shareholders or beneficiaries should not include a credit for which a transfer election was made^[1]. A selling partnership or S corporation reports the total credit on the part’s total line and on Form 3800, Part III (table above)^[1].

Bonus amounts need their own paperwork

The bonuses raise the price of what you sell, and the buyer will ask how you proved them.

• Prevailing wage and apprenticeship. If you claim the increased credit amount for meeting the requirements in Part III, V or VI, you must file Form 7220 for each facility, property, project or energy storage technology^[1][4].
• Statement for the increased amount. If you check the box on line 7a or 8b to claim an increased amount in Part V or VI, attach a statement for each facility. It gives your name, taxpayer identification number, a description of the facility and, if applicable, the registration number^[1].
• Domestic content. To claim the domestic content bonus in Part V or VI, attach a domestic content certification statement for each project at the time of filing^[1].
• Proof for the buyer. If the credit you sell includes bonus amounts, you must give the buyer documentation that you met the bonus requirements^[3].

After the sale

• Basis reduction still applies to you. When a §48, §48C or §48E credit is sold, section 50(c) reduces the property’s basis as if the seller had been allowed the credit^[3].
• Recapture. If the property is disposed of or stops qualifying within the recapture period, both parties follow a notification process, and the recapture affects both of them as the regulations set out^[5].
• Form 4255. Any increase in tax for recapture, excessive payments, excessive credit transfers or prevailing-wage penalties is reported on Form 4255^[1]. The risk page explains who bears what.

Where the transfer itself is reported

Form 3468 only figures the credit. The sale is reported on Form 3800, Part III, column (f): as a negative amount by the seller and a positive amount by the buyer. Both also attach a transfer election statement. See Form 3800.