Form IT-603I: Instructions for Form IT-603 Claim for EZ Investment Tax Credit and EZ Employment Incentive Credit (Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-603 is the claim form New York businesses use to request the Empire Zone (EZ) Investment Tax Credit and, when eligible, the related EZ Employment Incentive Credit. The instructions booklet, IT-603I, walks filers through the calculations, eligibility rules, and documentation needed to back up the credit amounts entered on the return. If your business operates within a designated Empire Zone and has made qualifying investments in tangible property, this form is how you turn that investment into a real reduction of your New York State tax bill.

The Empire Zone program itself has been phased out for new participants, but businesses that were certified before the program’s sunset can still carry forward benefits and claim credits tied to property placed in service or employment maintained under their original zone certification. That’s why Form IT-603 and its instructions remain active for tax year 2025 — legacy EZ businesses still need a mechanism to calculate and support these credits each year they qualify.

Who Needs This Form

You need Form IT-603 if your business is certified under the Empire Zones program and you purchased, leased, or otherwise placed in service qualifying tangible property used in the zone. The Investment Tax Credit rewards capital investment in production equipment, buildings, and other business property located within the designated zone. The Employment Incentive Credit is a companion benefit available in certain years following an investment credit claim, provided the business maintained or increased employment levels in the zone.

Corporations file this claim alongside Form CT-3 or CT-3-A, while sole proprietors, partners, and other individual filers attach it to their personal income tax return. Partnerships and S corporations generally compute the credit at the entity level and pass through the allocated share to each partner or shareholder, who then uses IT-603 to claim their portion.

When to Use Form IT-603

You’ll use this form for the tax year in which the qualifying property was placed in service, or in a later year if you’re claiming the employment incentive portion tied to a prior investment credit claim. Because Empire Zone certifications and property placement dates vary widely between businesses, the specific year you file depends entirely on your own investment and employment history within the zone — there’s no single trigger date that applies to everyone. The instructions clarify which tax year each component of the credit belongs to, which matters since claiming the wrong year can delay processing or trigger a request for additional documentation from the Tax Department.

How to Fill It Out

The IT-603I instructions break the form into sections covering the cost basis of qualifying property, the applicable credit rate, and any recapture calculations if property was disposed of or removed from the zone before the required holding period ended. You’ll need records showing the purchase date, cost, and business use of each asset, plus proof of your zone certification number. For the employment incentive piece, you’ll need payroll or employment count records comparing zone employment across the relevant base year and current year.

Since this form isn’t available as a fillable PDF, you’ll need to print it and complete it by hand using black ink, then attach it to your main New York State return when you file. Double-check your arithmetic on the credit computation lines — these calculations involve multiple percentages and carryforward amounts that are easy to transpose when working from a printed page rather than a digital form.

If your business claims multiple New York credits in the same year, it helps to review related instructions side by side. Businesses working with energy-related incentives sometimes also file Form IT-253 for the Alternative Fuels Credit, while film and production companies claiming zone-adjacent credits may want to check Form IT-261 for the Empire State Film Post-Production Credit. Nonresident filers dealing with cooperative unit sales alongside business credits can also reference Form IT-2664 instructions for a related but separate filing obligation.

Keep copies of your completed IT-603 and all supporting property and payroll records for at least three years after filing, since the Tax Department can request documentation to verify zone certification status and credit eligibility during that window.