80-315: Re-forestation Tax Credit (2024)
Mississippi · Mississippi DOR · Used for tax years 2024
Mississippi Form 80-315 calculates the 2024 Reforestation Tax Credit, the amount used this year, any carryover, and the remaining lifetime credit allowance. It includes a cost worksheet for reforestation practices and a forester certification.
Who files this form
Form 80-315 is used to calculate the Mississippi Reforestation Tax Credit (RTC) for 2024. It covers qualifying reforestation expenditures on eligible lands and includes entries for credit carried forward from earlier years or received as an investor in a pass-through entity.
The form provides tax-return references for individuals, corporations, and fiduciaries, plus separate directions for pass-through entities.
What you'll need
To complete the form, have these items available, as applicable:
- Your taxpayer name and SSN or FEIN.
- Your total 2024 expenditures for seedlings, seed/acorns, seeding, planting, site preparation, and post-planting site preparation on eligible acres.
- The completed page 2 cost worksheet, including acreage and the names or codes of the counties where the work was performed.
- Form 80-315 for the immediately prior year, which must be attached if you enter a credit carryover on line 5a.
- K-1 forms showing current-year RTC passed through to you as an investor.
- Income tax due and other available credit amounts from your tax return, plus RTC used or passed through in prior years.
- Your federal return information showing whether you elected an investment tax credit or reforestation amortization for qualifying expenditures on the same eligible lands.
Part V requires a forester's certification that the reforestation practices were completed and the prescription or plan was followed.
How to file
Complete the cost worksheet on page 2. Multiply column A by column B for each entry, then enter the total of column C on page 1, Part I, line 2.
The form directs you to report the credit from line 10 on Form 80-401 or Form 83-401. Pass-through entities must enter their line 6 amount on Form 84-401 and skip Parts II and III.
A copy of the completed cost worksheet must be furnished to:
Mississippi Forestry Commission
660 North St. Suite 300
Jackson, MS 39202
The supplied form does not give a mailing address or e-filing directions for filing Form 80-315 itself.
Common mistakes
- Including tax payments as other credits. Line 8 says not to include withholding or estimated tax payments.
- Omitting the prior-year form. If you enter a carryover on line 5a, attach Form 80-315 for the immediately prior year.
- Exceeding the lifetime balance on line 6. The form says not to enter more than the amount on Part IV, line 16.
- Completing Parts II and III for a pass-through entity. The form directs pass-through entities to report line 6 on Form 84-401 and skip those parts.
- Failing to provide the worksheet copy. The notice on page 2 requires a copy to be furnished to the Mississippi Forestry Commission.
- Overlooking the joint-filer note. When married taxpayers file jointly and each spouse qualifies as an eligible owner, the form directs them to consult the instructions for lines 7 and 8. Those instructions were not supplied here.
Questions people ask
How is the credit earned for 2024 calculated?
Line 3 is the lesser of your expenditures on line 1 or the approved-practice costs on line 2. Line 4 is 50% of line 3 or $10,000, whichever is less.
What is the lifetime credit allowance?
The form lists a $75,000 lifetime RTC allowance. Part IV subtracts credit used in prior years, or passed through to investors in prior years, to determine the remaining lifetime balance.
Can unused credit be carried forward?
Yes. Part III calculates the amount available to carry forward to succeeding tax years by subtracting the credit used this year on line 12 from the available credit on line 11.
Who can certify the reforestation work?
Part V provides for certification by a graduate forester from a college, school, or university accredited by the Society of American Foresters, or a registered forester under the Foresters Registration Law of 1977. The certification states that the practices were completed and the reforestation prescription or plan was followed.
Does the form ask about federal tax elections?
Yes. It asks whether you elected an investment tax credit or reforestation amortization on your federal income tax return for qualifying expenditures on the same eligible lands where you claim the RTC.