Form IT-646-I: Instructions for the Employee Training Incentive Program Tax Credit (Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-646-I contains the official instructions from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for completing Form IT-646, which is used to claim the Employee Training Incentive Program (ETIP) Tax Credit. This credit rewards New York employers who invest in structured training for their employees, whether that training happens on-site, through a partnership with a college or university, or via an internship program tied to an advanced technology field.

The ETIP credit was created to encourage businesses to upgrade the skills of their workforce rather than simply hiring new staff to fill knowledge gaps. If your company paid for approved training programs during the tax year, this credit can offset a portion of that cost against your New York State tax liability.

Who Needs Form IT-646-I

You’ll want to reference these instructions if your business participated in New York’s Employee Training Incentive Program and received certification from Empire State Development. The credit is available to corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietors who have been approved participants in the program and who incurred qualified training expenses or costs related to an internship program during 2025.

Eligible expenses generally include tuition and training costs paid to a college, university, or other approved training provider for employees, as well as stipends or wages paid to interns participating in a qualifying internship focused on emerging or advanced technologies. Before you can claim anything on Form IT-646, you need prior certification from Empire State Development confirming your participation in the program and the specific credit amount you’re authorized to claim.

When to Use This Form

Form IT-646 and its accompanying instructions apply to the 2025 tax year. You’d use this form when filing your annual New York State tax return if you have a certificate of tax credit from Empire State Development showing an approved ETIP credit amount. The credit is claimed in the year the certificate authorizes, not necessarily the year the training expenses were paid, so it’s worth double-checking the certification date before you file.

Businesses structured as partnerships or S corporations pass the credit through to individual partners or shareholders, who then claim their allocated share on their own personal income tax returns. The instructions walk through how that allocation should be reported and what supporting documentation to keep on hand in case the Department of Taxation and Finance requests verification.

How to Get and Complete the Form

Form IT-646-I is only available as a printable PDF directly from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website. There’s no digital fill-in version, so you’ll need to print the form and instructions, then complete the paper form by hand using the figures from your Empire State Development certificate. Once filled out, it gets attached to your applicable New York State income tax return, whether that’s a corporate franchise tax return or a personal income tax return depending on your business structure.

Because the form has to be completed manually, it helps to gather your certification paperwork, training expense records, and any prior-year carryover information before you start. The instructions include worksheets for calculating the credit amount and, if applicable, figuring out how much unused credit can carry forward to future tax years.

If your business claims multiple New York tax credits, it’s common to file several credit forms alongside the ETIP form. Employers who hired veterans, for example, may also need Form IT-643-I for the Hire a Veteran Credit, while agricultural employers should look at Form IT-647-I covering the Farm Workforce Retention Credit. Businesses in the financial services sector operating within an Empire Zone might also need Form IT-605-I for the EZ Investment Tax Credit. Reviewing each set of instructions separately helps avoid mixing up eligibility requirements or calculation methods between credits.