OMB No. 1545-0231

Form 6478

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Attachment

Sequence No. 83

Name(s) shown on return Identifying number

(b)

Rate

(c)

Column (a) x Column (b)

(a)

Number of Gallons

Sold or Used

Type of Alcohol Fuel

1

Straight alcohol and alcohol mixtures:

2a $.52 ($.51**)

b

190 proof or greater (in gallons)

2b $.3852 ($.3778**)

3

Less than 190 proof but at least 150 proof (in gallons)

3

2

Add lines 1, 2a, and 2b in both columns

4 Other fuels blended with the alcohol on lines 2a and 2b 4

5a Total gallons of fuel. Add lines 3 and 4 (column (a)) 5a

Total gallons containing less than 5.7% of 190-proof alcohol

or that are exempt from excise taxes (see instructions)

b

5b

6 Subtract line 5b from line 5a 6

7 Break down line 6 into the number of gallons of:

7a

a

$.132

7b

b

Aviation fuel for use in noncommercial aviation containing at

least 10% alcohol

(see instructions)

7c

Gasohol (and other fuels) containing less than 85% alcohol

(see instructions)

c Special motor fuel containing 85% or more alcohol (see

instructions) $.0525

8 Add lines 7a through 7c, column (c) 8

9 Subtract line 8 from line 3. Include this amount in your income for 2004 9

10 Alcohol fuel credit(s) from a partnership, S corporation, estate, trust, or cooperative (see instructions) 10

11 Current year credit. Add lines 9 and 10 11

Only the rate for ethanol is shown. See instructions for lines 2 and 7 for rates for alcohol other than ethanol.

Allowable Credit (See Who must file Form 3800 to find out if you complete the lines below or file Form 3800.)

1 $.10

a

Qualified ethanol fuel production (in gallons)

(see instructions for election)

Cat. No. 13605J

*

Form 6478 (2004)

Credit for Alcohol Used as Fuel

 Attach to your tax return.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 4.

*

12

15a 15a

b Credits from Form 1040, lines 47 through 53 15b

15d

Foreign tax credit

d

f

Possessions tax credit (Form 5735, line 17 or 27)

Credit for fuel from a nonconventional source

Qualified electric vehicle credit (Form 8834, line 20)

Add lines 15a through 15e 15f

Net income tax. Subtract line 15f from line 14. If zero, skip lines 17 through 20 and enter -0- on line 21 16

13 Alternative minimum tax (see instructions) 13

16

17 Net regular tax. Subtract line 15f from line 12. If zero or less, enter -0- 17

19 Tentative minimum tax (see instructions)

Subtract line 20 from line 16. If zero or less, enter -0-

20 20

Credit allowed for the current year. Enter the smaller of line 11 or line 21 here and on Form

1040, line 54; Form 1120, Schedule J, line 6d; Form 1120-A, Part I, line 2; Form 1041, Schedule

G, line 2c; or the applicable line of your return. If line 21 is smaller than line 11, see instructions 22

c 15c

12 Regular tax before credits (see instructions)

14 Add lines 12 and 13 14

18

Enter the greater of line 18 or line 19

18

19

Enter 25% (.25) of the excess, if any, of line 17 over $25,000 (see instructions)

21 21

22

e 15e

2004

Part I

Part II

Current Year Credit

Rate effective for fuel sold or used after December 31, 2004. **

Caution:

● See What’s New on page 2 for important changes to this credit.

● You cannot claim any amounts on Form 6478 that you claimed (or will claim) on Schedule C (Form 720), Form 8849, or Form 4136.

Caution: Generally, do not report on lines 4 through 7c any fuel sold

or used after December 31, 2004. However, report on line 7b the

gallons of gasohol produced after 2004 from gasoline already taxed

at a reduced excise tax rate before 2005. See section 2(i) of Notice

2005-4 in I.R.B. 2005-2 for details.
Form 6478 (2004) Page 2

General Instructions

Purpose of Form

Use Form 6478 to figure your credit for alcohol used as fuel. You

claim the credit for the tax year in which the sale or use occurs.

This credit consists of the:

You may claim or elect not to claim the alcohol fuel credit at

any time within 3 years from the due date of your return

(determined without regard to extensions) on either an original or

an amended return for the tax year of the sale or use.

Definitions and Special Rules

Alcohol

● Alcohol produced from petroleum, natural gas, or coal

(including peat). Methanol produced from methane gas formed in

waste disposal sites is not alcohol produced from natural gas,

and is included for credit purposes.

● Alcohol of less than 150 proof. In figuring the proof of any

alcohol, disregard any denaturants (additives that make the

alcohol unfit for human consumption). The volume of alcohol

includes any denaturant up to 5% of the volume of the alcohol

and denaturant combined.

● Used it as fuel, or

● Sold it as fuel to another person.

Straight Alcohol

● Used as a fuel in a trade or business, or

● Sold at retail to another person and put in the fuel tank of that

person’s vehicle.

Qualified Ethanol Fuel Production

1. Is sold by the producer to another person—

● For use by the buyer in the buyer’s trade or business to

produce a qualified mixture (other than casual off-farm

production),

● For use by the buyer as a fuel in a trade or business, or

● Who sells the ethanol at retail to another person and puts the

ethanol in the retail buyer’s fuel tank; or

2. Is used or sold by the producer for any purpose described in

1 above.

Special Fuel

Noncommercial Aviation

Recapture of Credit

● Separate the alcohol from the mixture,

● Use the mixture other than as a fuel,

● Mix straight alcohol on which the credit was allowed for the

retail sale,

● Use the straight alcohol other than as a fuel, or

● Do not use the fuel for the purposes described under Qualified

Ethanol Fuel Production.

Report the tax on Form 720.

Eligible Small Ethanol Producer

The credit is available only to the producer who blends the

mixture. The producer must use or sell the mixture in a trade or

business and the credit is available only for the year the mixture is

sold or used. The credit is not allowed for casual off-farm

production of a qualified mixture.

● Alcohol mixture credit,

● Alcohol credit, and

● Small ethanol producer credit.

Alcohol Mixture

However, no credit is allowed for alcohol you used as a fuel in a

trade or business if that alcohol was sold in a retail sale described

above.

Part I—Current Year Credit

Use lines 1 through 9 to figure any alcohol fuel credit from your

own trade or business.

Note. We have shown in column (b) the rate for ethanol only. If

you have a credit for alcohol other than ethanol, enter in column

(b) the applicable rate shown in the instructions for lines 2a, 2b,

and 7a through 7c.

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.

Alcohol, for credit purposes, includes ethanol and methanol but

does not include the following.

The alcohol must be used to make a qualified mixture. A qualified

mixture combines alcohol with gasoline or special fuel. The

producer of the mixture either:

The alcohol must not be a mixture with gasoline or special fuel

(other than as a denaturant). The credit is for alcohol which during

the tax year you:

This is ethanol produced by an eligible small ethanol producer

(defined below) which during the tax year:

This is a person who, at all times during the tax year, has a

productive capacity for alcohol of 30 million gallons or less. This

capacity includes alcohol made from petroleum, natural gas, coal,

peat, and alcohol of less than 150 proof.

This is any liquid fuel other than gasoline that is suitable for use or

is used in an internal combustion engine.

This is the use of an aircraft other than in a business of

transporting persons or property for pay.

You must pay a tax on each gallon of alcohol (or the alcohol in the

mixture) at the rate you used to figure the credit if you:

Additional Information

See Pub. 378, Fuel Tax Credits and Refunds.

What’s New

● The credit rates on lines 2a and 2b have decreased.

● The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 generally eliminated

the reduced rate of tax for most alcohol-blended fuels effective

January 1, 2005. The alcohol fuel mixture credit may be taken

on Form 6478 if the credit is not taken on Form 720, Form

8849, or Form 4136. Only one credit may be claimed with

respect to any gallon of alcohol.

● Cooperatives can elect to allocate any part of the small

ethanol producer credit to patrons of the cooperative for tax

years ending after October 22, 2004.

● All producers and importers of alcohol with a proof of at least

190 must be registered. See Registration below.

Caution: Before claiming a credit on Form 6478, the alcohol

fuel mixture credit should be taken against any section 4081

liability on Form 720. Any credit in excess of the section 4081

liability can be taken as a claim for payment on Form 8849 or an

income tax credit on Form 4136.

Registration

All producers and importers of alcohol with a proof of at least 190

must be registered with the IRS by July 1, 2005. See Form 637,

Application for Registration (For Certain Excise Tax Activities).

Coordination With Excise Tax Credit

Only one credit may be taken with respect to any gallon of alcohol

reported on line 2a. If any amount is claimed (or will be claimed)

with respect to any gallon of alcohol on Form 720, Quarterly

Federal Excise Tax Return, Form 8849, Claim for Refund of Excise

Taxes, or Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels, then a

claim cannot be made on Form 6478 for that gallon of alcohol.

Specific Instructions
Line 7

Line 7a. Enter in column (a) the number of gallons of alcohol (or

alcohol blended with aviation fuel other than gasoline) sold for

Lines 7b and 7c. Use these lines for all other fuels (including

gasohol) if you received an excise tax benefit because the fuels

contained alcohol.

Line 7b. Enter in column (a) the number of gallons of fuel that is

a mixture containing less than 85% alcohol.

Line 7c. Enter in column (a) the number of gallons of special

motor fuel that contain 85% or more alcohol. If the alcohol did not

contain ethanol, the rate in column (b) is 6.05 cents.

Line 9

Line 11

Form 6478 (2004) Page 3

The rates are based on the percentage of alcohol in the

mixture.

Product

Rate

Ethanol

Other than

ethanol

10% gasohol

7.7% gasohol

5.7% gasohol

$.052

$.04004

$.02964

$.06

$.0462

$.0342

Part II—Allowable Credit

The credit allowed for the current year may be limited based on

your tax liability. Use Part II to figure the allowable credit unless

you must file Form 3800, General Business Credit.

● A carryback or carryforward of any of those credits.

● More than one credit included in the general business credit

(other than a credit from Form 8844, Form 8884, or Section B of

Form 8835), or

● A credit for alcohol used as fuel from a passive activity,

Who must file Form 3800. You must file Form 3800 if you have:

Line 4

Line 5b

Line 2b

Enter the number of gallons included on line 5a that contain less than

5.7% of 190-proof or greater alcohol or that are exempt from excise

taxes. The fuel can be exempt because of specific exemption, credit,

or refund provisions other than the alcohol fuel credit.

Enter the number of gallons of other fuels blended with the alcohol

shown on lines 2a and 2b. Other fuels include gasoline and special fuel.

Enter the number of gallons of alcohol that is less than 190 proof

but at least 150 proof and multiply by the rate. For alcohol other

than from ethanol, the rate is 45 cents per gallon.

If you sold or used alcohol or an alcohol mixture as fuel, you may

have been entitled to an exemption, credit, refund, or a reduced

rate of excise tax. The alcohol fuel credit must be reduced to take

into account any of these benefits.

Include this amount in income, under “other income” on the

applicable line of your income tax return, even if you cannot use

all of the credit because of the tax liability limit. However, if you

are subject to alternative minimum tax (AMT), this amount is not

income in computing AMT and must be subtracted when figuring

your alternative minimum taxable income. Do this by including this

amount on line 26 of Form 6251, line 23 of Schedule I, Form 1041,

or line 2o of Form 4626.

For an estate or trust, the credit on line 11 is allocated between

the estate or trust and the beneficiaries in proportion to the

income allocable to each. In the margin to the right of line 11, the

estate or trust should enter its part of the total credit. Label it

“1041 Portion” and use this amount in lines 12 through 22 (or

Form 3800) to figure the credit to claim on Form 1041. Also, enter

and identify the beneficiaries’ share of the credit to the right of line

11 and attach a schedule showing how the total credit was

divided.

See the instructions for Form 3800 for a list of credits included

in the general business credit.

Line 10

If your credit from a pass-through entity includes the small

ethanol producer credit, the pass-through entity must tell you the

amount of the small producer credit included in the pass-through

credit, the number of gallons for which the entity claimed the

small ethanol producer credit, and the productive capacity for

alcohol. You, as a shareholder, partner, beneficiary, or patron, are

subject to the 15-million-gallon limitation for line 1 and the

30-million-gallon productive capacity limitation for an eligible

small ethanol producer. If you receive a small ethanol producer

credit from more than one entity, your credit may be limited.

Enter the amount of credit that was allocated to you as a

shareholder, partner, beneficiary, or patron.

Skip lines 1 through 9 if you are claiming only a credit that was

allocated to you from a pass-through entity (that is, an

S corporation, partnership, estate, trust, or cooperative).

Line 1

If the line 11 credit includes any small ethanol producer credit

(line 1), you must separately state to each shareholder, partner

(except a partner in an electing large partnership), or beneficiary

the number of gallons on which the credit was figured and your

productive capacity (in gallons) for alcohol.

S Corporations, Partnerships, Estates, and Trusts

Figure the total credit on lines 1 through 11. Then, allocate the line

11 credit to each shareholder, partner, and beneficiary in the

same way that income and loss are divided. Electing large

partnerships include this credit in “general credits.”

Enter the number of gallons of ethanol, up to 15 million gallons,

that meet the conditions listed under Qualified Ethanol Fuel

Production on page 2. Cooperatives enter any amount of the

small ethanol producer credit not allocated to patrons. Multiply by

the rate of 10 cents per gallon.

Line 2a

Enter the number of gallons of 190 proof or greater alcohol and

multiply by the rate. For alcohol other than from ethanol, the rate

is 60 cents per gallon.

Cooperative Election to Allocate the Small Ethanol

Producer Credit to Patrons

For tax years ending after October 22, 2004, a cooperative

described in section 1381(a) can elect to allocate any part of the

small ethanol producer credit to patrons of the cooperative. The

credit is allocated among the patrons eligible to share in

patronage dividends on the basis of the quantity or value of

business done with or for the patrons for the tax year.

Caution: Generally, do not report on lines 4 through 7c any fuel sold

or used after December 31, 2004. However, report on line 7b the

gallons of gasohol produced after 2004 from gasoline already taxed

at a reduced excise tax rate before 2005. See section 2(i) of Notice

2005-4 in I.R.B. 2005-2 for details.

use, or used, as fuel in an aircraft in noncommercial aviation if you

received an excise tax benefit because the mixture contained at

least 10% alcohol. If the alcohol did not contain ethanol, the rate

in column (b) is 14 cents.

To make an election, attach a statement to your timely filed

return (including extensions) indicating the amounts you would

report in columns (a) and (c) on line 1 of Form 6478 without an

election, the amounts you are electing to allocate to patrons, and

the amounts that will not be allocated.

If you timely filed your return without making an election, you

can still make the election by filing an amended return within 6

months of the due date of the return (excluding elections). Write

“Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2” on the amended return.

Once made, the election cannot be revoked.
Form 6478 (2004) Page 4

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on

this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United

States. You are required to give us the information. We need it to

ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow us to

figure and collect the right amount of tax.

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary depending

on individual circumstances. The estimated average time is:

Recordkeeping 10 hr., 31 min.

Learning about the

law or the form 18 min.

Preparing and sending the form

to the IRS 28 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time

estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would

be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for the tax return

with which this form is filed.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a

form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the

form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records

relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as

their contents may become material in the administration of any

Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return information

are confidential, as required by section 6103.

Printed on recycled paper

Line 19

Although you may not owe AMT, you generally must still compute

the tentative minimum tax (TMT) to figure your credit. For a small

corporation exempt from the AMT under section 55(e), enter zero.

Otherwise, complete and attach the applicable AMT form or

schedule. Enter on line 19 the TMT from the line shown below.

Line 18

See section 38(c)(5) for special rules that apply to married couples

filing separate returns, controlled corporate groups, regulated

investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and estates

and trusts.

Line 22

● Individuals: Form 6251, line 33.

● Corporations: Form 4626, line 12.

● Estates and trusts: Form 1041, Schedule I, line 54.

If you cannot use all of the credit because of the tax liability limit

(line 21 is smaller than line 11), carry the unused credit back 1

year then forward up to 20 years. See the instructions for Form

3800 for details.

Line 12

Enter the regular tax before credits from the following line of the

appropriate form or schedule.

● Individuals: Form 1040, line 43.

● Corporations: Form 1120, Schedule J, line 3; Form 1120-A, 

Part I, line 1; or the amount from the applicable line of your return.

● Estates and trusts: The sum of the amounts from Form 1041,

Schedule G, lines 1a and 1b; or the amount from the applicable

line of your return.

Line 13

Enter the alternative minimum tax (AMT) from the following line of

the appropriate form or schedule.

● Individuals: Form 6251, line 35.

● Corporations: Form 4626, line 14.

● Estates and trusts: Form 1041, Schedule I, line 56.