Form 8827 

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service

Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax—Corporations

▶ Attach to the corporation’s tax return.

OMB No. 1545-1257

2011

Name Employer identification number

1 Alternative minimum tax (AMT) for 2010. Enter the amount from line 14 of the 2010 Form 4626 1 

2 Minimum tax credit carryforward from 2010. Enter the amount from line 9 of the 2010 Form 8827 2 

3 Enter any 2010 unallowed qualified electric vehicle credit (see instructions) . . . . . . . 3 

4 Add lines 1, 2, and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

5 Enter the corporation’s 2011 regular income tax liability minus allowable tax credits (see 

instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

6 Is the corporation a “small corporation” exempt from the AMT for 2011 (see instructions)?

• Yes. Enter 25% of the excess of line 5 over $25,000. If line 5 is $25,000 or less, enter -0-

• No. Complete Form 4626 for 2011 and enter the tentative minimum tax from line 12 . . . 6 

7 a Subtract line 6 from line 5. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7a 

b For a corporation electing to accelerate the minimum tax credit, enter the bonus depreciation

amount attributable to the minimum tax credit (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . 7b

c Add lines 7a and 7b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7c 

8 a Enter the smaller of line 4 or line 7c. If the corporation had a post-1986 ownership change or 

has pre-acquisition excess credits, see instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8a 

b Current year minimum tax credit. Enter the smaller of line 4 or line 7a here and on Form 1120, 

Schedule J, Part I, line 5d (or the applicable line of your return). If the corporation had a 

post-1986 ownership change or has pre-acquisition excess credits, see instructions. If you

made an entry on line 7b, go to line 8c. Otherwise, skip line 8c . . . . . . . . . . . 8b

c Subtract line 8b from line 8a. This is the refundable amount for a corporation electing to 

accelerate the minimum tax credit. Include this amount on Form 1120, Schedule J, Part II, line

19c (or the applicable line of your return) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8c 

9 Minimum tax credit carryforward to 2012. Subtract line 8a from line 4. Keep a record of this

amount to carry forward and use in future years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue 

Code unless otherwise noted.

What's New

The IRS has created a page on IRS.gov about 

Form 8827 and its instructions at 

www.irs.gov/form8827. Information about any 

future developments affecting Form 8827 

(such as legislation enacted after we release 

it) will be posted on that page.

Purpose of Form

Corporations use Form 8827 to figure the 

minimum tax credit, if any, for AMT incurred in 

prior tax years and to figure any minimum tax 

credit carryforward.

Who Should File

Form 8827 should be filed by corporations that 

had:

• An AMT liability in 2010,

• A minimum tax credit carryforward from 2010 

to 2011, or

• A qualified electric vehicle credit not allowed 

for 2010 (see the instructions for line 3).

Line 3

Enter any qualified electric vehicle credit not 

allowed for 2010 solely because of tentative 

minimum tax limitations.

Line 5

Enter the corporation’s 2011 regular income tax 

liability (as defined in section 26(b)) minus any 

credits allowed under Chapter 1, Subchapter A, 

Part IV, subparts B, D, E, and F of the Internal 

Revenue Code (for example, if you are filing 

Form 1120, subtract any credits on Schedule J, 

Part I, line 5a, through 5c, from the amount on 

Schedule J, Part I, line 2). 

Line 6

See the 2011 Instructions for Form 4626 to find 

out if the corporation is treated as a “small 

corporation” exempt from the AMT for 2011. If 

the corporation is a “small corporation” exempt 

from the AMT, see section 38(c)(5) before 

completing line 6 for special rules that apply to 

controlled corporate groups, regulated 

investment companies, and real estate 

investment trusts.

Line 7b

A corporation can elect (under section 168(k)(4)) 

to accelerate its use of unused minimum tax 

credit carryforwards from tax years beginning 

before 2006 and obtain a refundable credit in lieu 

of any special depreciation allowance for eligible 

property (discussed later). If the election is made, 

the corporation must do the following. 

• Forgo the special depreciation allowance for 

the eligible property, and 

• Use the straight-line method of depreciation of 

such property.

An election to claim pre-2006 unused research 

credits or minimum tax credits in lieu of claiming 

the special depreciation allowance made by a 

corporation for either its first tax year ending 

after March 31, 2008, or its first tax year ending 

after December 31, 2008, continues to apply to 

certain extension property (as defined in section 

168(k)(4)(H)), unless the corporation made an 

election not to apply the election made under 

section 168(k)(4) to extension property for its first 

tax year ending after December 31, 2008. 

Generally, qualified extension property is long 

production period property and noncommercial 

aircraft if acquired after March 31, 2008, and 

placed in service after December 31, 2009, but 

before January 1, 2011.

Round 2 extension property. An election to 

claim pre-2006 unused minimum tax credits in 

lieu of claiming the special depreciation 

allowance made by the corporation for either its 

first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, or its 

first tax year ending after December 31, 2008, 

continues to apply to round 2 extension property 

(as defined in section 168(k)(4)(l)) unless the 

corporation makes an election not to apply the 

original election to round 2 extension property. 

Generally, round 2 extension property is property 

that is eligible qualified property solely because it 

meets the requirements under the extension of 

the additional special depreciation allowance to 

certain property placed in service after 

December 31, 2010. See section 168(k)(4)(l).

If the corporation did not make the election for 

either its first tax year ending after March 31, 

2008, or its first tax year ending after December 

31, 2008, the corporation may elect for its first 

tax year ending after December 31, 2010, to 

claim pre-2006 unused minimum tax credits in 

lieu of claiming the special depreciation 

allowance only for round 2 extension property.

Once made, these elections cannot be 

revoked without IRS consent. 

Cat. No. 13008K Form 8827 (2011)
Form 8827 (2011) Page 2 

Worksheet for Calculating the Refundable Minimum Tax Credit Amount (keep for your records)

(a) 

Extension property

(b) 

Round 2 extension 

property

1 Enter depreciation (including the special depreciation allowance) that would have

been allowed for extension property placed in service in 2010, or round 2 extension

property placed in service after December 31, 2010, as appropriate, if section

168(k)(1) and (k)(5) had applied to such property . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

2 Enter depreciation for eligible extension property, placed in service in 2010 or round

2 extension property placed in service after December 31, 2010, as appropriate, 

figured without regard to section 168(k)(1) and (k)(5) . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

3 Subtract line 2 from line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

4 Multiply line 3 by 20% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

5 Enter any unused research credit carryforward from tax years beginning before 2006 5 

6 Enter any unused minimum tax credit carryforward from tax years beginning before 2006 6 

 7 Add line 5 and line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

8 Multiply line 7 by 6% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

9 Enter the smaller of line 8 or $30,000,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

10 Enter any bonus depreciation amounts determined under section 168(k)(4)(C) 

attributable to extension property or round 2 extension property, as appropriate, for 

all preceding tax years ending after March 31, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

11 Subtract line 10 from line 9. If zero or less, enter -0-. . . . . . . . . . . 11 

12 Bonus depreciation amount. Enter the smaller of line 4 or line 11 . . . . . . 12 

Note. If you do not have a research credit carryforward, or if you choose not to 

allocate bonus depreciation amounts to research credit carryforwards, skip lines 13 

and 14 and enter -0- on line 15.

13 Enter the amount from line 10 allocated to the research credit carryforward shown on line 5 13 

14 Maximum bonus depreciation amount allocable to the research credit. Subtract line 13 from line 5 14 

15 Refundable research credit. Enter the smaller of line 14 or the amount on line 12 

that you choose to allocate to the research credit . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

16 Subtract line 15 from line 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

17 Enter the amount from line 10 allocated to the minimum tax credit carryforward shown on line 6 17 

18 Maximum bonus depreciation amount allocable to the minimum tax credit. Subtract 

line 17 from line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

19 Refundable minimum tax credit. Enter the smaller of line 18 or line 16 in appropriate 

columns. Enter the total of line 19, columns (a) and (b) on Form 8827, line 7b . . 19 

If the corporation elects to accelerate the 

minimum tax credit and obtain a refundable 

credit in lieu of the special depreciation 

allowance, complete the Worksheet for 

Calculating the Refundable Minimum Tax 

Credit Amount above. Enter the total of line 

19, columns (a) and (b), on Form 8827, line 

7b. All others, enter zero on line 7b. 

For more information on the election to 

accelerate the research or minimum tax credit 

for eligible property, including information on 

how to make the elections, see Rev. Proc. 

2008-65, 2008-44 I.R.B. 1082, available at 

http://www.irs.gov/irb/2008-44_ IRB/

ar15.html; Rev. Proc. 2009-16, 2009-06 I.R.B. 

449, available at http://www.irs.gov/

irb/2009-06_IRB/ar10.html; and Rev. Proc. 

2009-33, 2009-29 I.R.B. 150, available at 

http://www.irs.gov/irb/2009-29_IRB/ar09.html.

For more information on the special 

depreciation allowance, see the Instructions 

for Form 4562 and Pub. 946, How To 

Depreciate Property.

S corporations that make the election to 

accelerate the credit can use the credit only 

against the built-in gains tax. See the 

instructions for Schedule D (Form 1120S), line 

20. Corporations that file Form 1120-REIT or 

Form 1120-RIC must apply the credit first 

against the built-in gains tax, if any, and 

reduce the refundable credit by the amount 

so applied. See the instructions for line h of 

the Built-in Gains Tax Worksheet in the 

separate instructions for those forms.

Line 8

If the corporation had a post-1986 ownership 

change (as defined in section 382(g)), there 

may be a limit on the amount of pre-change 

minimum tax credits that can be applied 

against the corporation’s tax for any tax year 

ending after the ownership change. See 

section 383 and the related regulations. To 

figure the amount of the pre-change credit, 

the corporation must allocate the credit for 

the change year between the pre-change 

period and the post-change period. The 

corporation must use the same method of 

allocation (ratable allocation or 

closing-of-the-books) for purposes of 

sections 382 and 383. See Regulations 

section 1.382-6 for details.

Also, there may be a limit on the use of 

pre-acquisition excess credits of one 

corporation to offset the tax attributable to 

recognized built-in gains of another 

corporation. See section 384 for details.

If either limit applies, attach a computation 

of the allowable minimum tax credit, enter the 

amount on lines 8a and 8b, and write “Sec. 

383” or “Sec. 384” in the dotted line to the left 

of the line 8a and 8b entry spaces.

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.

You are not required to provide the 

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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.

The time needed to complete and file this 

form will vary depending on individual 

circumstances. The estimated average time 

is: Recordkeeping, 8 hr., 07 min., Learning 

about the law or the form, 1 hr., 47 min., 

Preparing and sending the form to the IRS, 

2 hr., 00 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.