The Department of Treasury (Treasury) has issued 2007 Supplemental Instructions for Final Fiscal SBT Filer.  The supplemental instructions are posted on the Treasury website and are meant to supplement the standard instructions, not to replace them.

The Single Business Tax (SBT) is repealed on business activity after December 31, 2007.  A fiscal year SBT taxpayer must file a short year return for the period from the beginning of its 2007-08 fiscal year through December 31, 2007.  The filing deadline for that final return is April 30, 2008.  If the standard SBT extension period is not sufficient to allow a fiscal year taxpayer to gather necessary information for its final SBT return, Treasury will, upon request, grant a special extension appropriate to the circumstances.  As with any extension, a request for a special extension beyond December 31, 2008 must comply with Single Business Tax Act (SBTA) section 73 in that substantially all of the tax estimated to be due must be paid with the request.

A 2007-08 fiscal year is required to close on December 31, 2007 for SBT reporting purposes.  The taxpayer should enter the beginning date (month) that corresponds to the taxable period as reported to the IRS, and enter December as the ending month.  A fiscal year taxpayer with a tax year ending in 2008 may elect to compute the tax for the final, short-period ending December 31, 2007, in accordance with either the annual method or the actual method. 

All standard practices pertaining to annualization and proration will apply for the qualification and calculation of credits and adjustments on the final SBT filing for a period less than 12 months. 

If the taxpayer chooses the annual method to compute the final fiscal return, copies of all federal forms required.  If the actual method is ued to compute the final return, the taxpayer must attach a pro-forma federal income tax return reflecting the actual income and expenses, prepared in accordance with the method of accounting used in prior fiscal years.  The pro-forma federal return must include all income, expenses and adjustments required. 

Taxpayers with fiscal years ending in 2008 must file Form C-8000 to calculate their final fiscal return.  The filing of Form C-8044 will not be accepted.    If an amended return for a final fiscal year is filed, taxpayers are instructed to use the 2007 Form C-8000 and print “AMENDED” at the top.  There will not be a Form C-8000X applicable to this situation.

The supplemental instructions address specific form and line issues relating to filing of the short period return.  Two of the many specific issues addressed include the calculation of credits and the filing of a Form C-8009.

CREDITS:  All credits against the tax must be earned and calculated based on actual payments made and actions performed prior to January 1, 2008, regardless of the method selected for the tax calculation.

FORM C-8009:  If an entity (short-year entity) has two taxable years ending in a controlled group calendar year, as will most 2007 fiscal year filers, two Form C-8009s must be filed, each reflecting all other members of the group and one tax period of the short-year entity.  The business activities of the other members are reported identically on each Form C-8009.