68: Broadband Equipment Investment Credit and Instructions 2025 (2025)
Idaho · Idaho Tax Commission · Used for tax years 2025
Idaho Form 68 calculates the broadband equipment investment credit earned or allowed for 2025. It reports qualified equipment investments, credits received or distributed, the credit allowed against Idaho income tax, and any carryover to future years.
Who files this form
Use Form 68 to calculate the Idaho broadband equipment investment credit earned or allowed. The form includes credit you earned, received through a pass-through entity, unitary sharing or transfer, and credit carried over from prior years.
Each member of a unitary group that earns or is allowed the credit must complete a separate Form 68.
To claim credit for installed equipment, you must obtain an Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) order confirming that it is qualified broadband equipment. The equipment must be used primarily to provide services to public subscribers in Idaho.
What you'll need
- Equipment list and PUC approval: Include a list identifying each piece of property acquired during the tax year, your basis in it, and the date placed in service. Also include the Idaho PUC approval confirming that the installed equipment qualifies.
- Pass-through credit records, if applicable: Use Form ID K-1, Part VII, line 41, or Part XI, line 65 (Composite/ABE).
- Prior-year carryover: Use your 2024 Form 68, line 19, for the carryover entered on the 2025 form.
- Transfer documentation: Include Form 70 if you received or transferred credit. A recipient must include a copy with each income tax return on which the transferred credit is claimed or carried over.
- Recapture documentation, if applicable: Include Form 68R and use its line 13 for carryover eliminated due to recapture in 2025.
- Unitary group schedule, if applicable: Include the required sharing schedule. Corporations claiming the credit must provide a calculation of credit earned and used by each combined-group member, clearly identifying shared credit and carryovers.
- Tax and credit figures: Have your Idaho income tax return and the applicable forms for the other credits listed on Form 68, line 13.
How to file
Complete Form 68 and include the supporting documents required for the credit you are reporting.
- Enter the allowed credit from line 16 on Form 44, Part I, line 5, in the Credit Allowed column.
- Enter the carryover from line 19 on Form 44, Part I, line 5, in the Carryover column.
- If an S corporation or partnership has elected to be an ABE, the line 16 amount must also be distributed to shareholders or partners on their Forms ID K-1.
For a credit transfer, the transferor must submit Form 70 to the Tax Commission at least 60 days before the transfer date.
The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-filing directions for Form 68.
Common mistakes
- Including equipment that no longer qualifies: Do not include equipment disposed of, moved out of Idaho, or no longer qualifying before year-end.
- Leaving out PUC approval: Include approval confirming that the installed equipment is qualified broadband equipment.
- Sharing credit before using it: A unitary-group corporation must first use the credit against its own Idaho income tax up to the allowable limit.
- Transferring credit you did not earn: Unless you are an intermediary, you can transfer only credit you originally earned.
- Using the wrong tax amount on line 12: Enter computed Idaho income tax before credits and before adding permanent building fund tax or other taxes.
- Applying credits out of order: Apply the other credits in the order listed in the instructions before applying the broadband equipment investment credit.
- Omitting Form 70 for transferred credit: The recipient must include it each year the transferred credit is claimed or carried over.
Questions people ask
How much credit can I earn?
Line 2 calculates the credit as 3% of qualified investments entered on line 1. Those investments must be in broadband equipment acquired during the tax year and approved by the Idaho PUC.
How much credit can I use this year?
The allowed credit cannot exceed your available credit, $750,000, or your Idaho income tax remaining after the other credits that must be applied first.
Can I carry unused credit forward?
Yes. Credit available that exceeds the amount allowed on the current-year return may be carried forward for up to 14 tax years. A recipient of transferred credit gets the same carryover period that would have been available to the transferor.
What equipment qualifies?
Qualified broadband equipment must qualify for the investment tax credit and be capable of transmitting at least 200,000 bits per second to a subscriber and at least 125,000 bits per second from a subscriber. It must be used primarily to serve public subscribers in Idaho. The instructions also require specific conditions for the listed carriers, operators, and equipment types, plus an Idaho PUC order confirming qualification.