Form 4897 - Corporate Income Tax Data On Unitary Business Group Members

Instructions for Form 4897

Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Data on Unitary Business Group Members

Return, Form 4891, line 9 and the table in the “Sourcing of

Purpose

Sales to Michigan” section of those instructions.

The purpose of this form is to gather tax return data on a

Line 7: List the member’s tax year, for federal income tax

separate basis for each standard member included in the

purposes, from which business activity is being reported on

combined return.

this copy of Form 4897.

Refund Only: If combined apportioned or allocated gross

Line 8: If the control test and relationship test were not both

receipts of all members (before eliminations) is less than

satisfied for this member’s entire federal tax year, enter the

$350,000 and the taxpayer is filing the CIT Annual Return

beginning and ending dates of the period within this member’s

(Form 4891) solely to claim a refund of payments made, the

federal tax year during which both tests were satisfied. (In

CIT Unitary Business Group Affiliates Excluded from the

Return of Standard Taxpayers (Form 4896), if applicable, and

no event should this beginning date be earlier than January

1, 2012.) These dates constitute a short tax period for CIT

Form 4897 also must be included. The designated member

purposes, even if there is no corresponding short federal

must complete a separate copy of Form 4897 for each member

tax period. This member must prepare a pro forma federal

of the Unitary Business Group (UBG), and one copy of

return for the portion of its federal year during which it was

Form 4896 if applicable. See Form 4891 for instructions on

a UBG member, and use that pro forma return as the basis for

completing that form.

reporting the tax data.

Member information from Form 4897 will be totaled

Line 9: If this member has nexus with Michigan, check this

and carried to Form 4891 of the UBG’s return. For more

box.

information, see the Form 4891 instructions.

Line 10:

Enter

the

member’s

six-digit

Fiscal Year Filers: See “Supplemental Instructions for

North

American

Industry

Classification

Standard Fiscal MBT Filers” in the Corporate Income Tax

Forms and Instructions for Standard Taxpayers (Form 4890).

System

(NAICS)

code.

For

complete

list

six-digit NAICS codes, see the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at

General Information About UBGs in CIT

Enter the same NAICS code

used when filing Schedule K of U.S. Form 1120.

For information on determining the existence of a UBG, see

the General Instructions in the CIT Forms and Instructions

Line 11: Enter any unused CIT business loss carryforward

for a Standard Taxpayer (Form 4890), in the section titled

from the CIT return for the preceding period. The only

amount that may be entered on this line is a CIT business

“Determining the Existence and Membership of a UBG

loss that was incurred after December 31, 2011, and claimed

Line-by-Line Instructions

or created on the prior period’s CIT return. Business loss

means a negative business income tax base after allocation or

NOTE: The Designated Member (DM) also must complete a

apportionment. The business loss will be carried forward to

copy of Form 4897 using its own data.

the year immediately succeeding the loss year as an offset to

NOTE: A member that does not file a separate federal return

the allocated or apportioned Business Income Tax base, then

successively to the next nine taxable years following the loss

(e.g., a member that also is a member of a federal consolidated

year or until the loss is used up, whichever occurs first, but for

group) must prepare a pro forma federal return or equivalent

not more than ten taxable years after the loss year.

schedule and use it as the basis for preparing its portion of the

CIT return.

NOTE: CIT business loss carryforward is not the same as the

NOTE: If the UBG is using the annual method, enter answers

federal net operating loss carryforward or carryback, or the

based on the member’s full 2011-2012 federal tax year,

Michigan Business Tax (MBT) business loss carryforward,

multiplied by the member’s proration percentage as entered on

neither of which can be claimed on the CIT return.

line 13 in lines 11, 12, and 19-32. See the instructions to line 13

This line is used only by the DM and by any member that

for more information.

had its own CIT business loss carryforward (hereafter, loss

Part 1: Member Identification

carryforward) when it joined this group. That latter category

includes a member that generated loss carryforward on a

Include a separate copy of Form 4897 for each member,

separately filed CIT return, and a member that left another

including the DM, whose business activity is required to be

UBG and took its share of that group’s loss carryforward.

reported on the combined return supported by this form. If

a member (other than the DM) has two or more tax periods

On the DM’s copy of this form, enter loss carryforward from

ending with or within the filing period of the return, use a

the group’s immediately preceding CIT Annual Return (Form

separate copy of Form 4897 for each of that member’s periods.

4891) (2012, line 34), less any part of that loss carryforward

attributable to members that had their own loss carryforward

Line 6: Check this box if the taxpayer has receipts from

when they joined the group, and less any part of that

transportation services. To calculate Michigan Sales from

carryforward subsequently taken by departing members (see

Transportation Services, see the instructions in the CIT Annual

Form 4897 - Corporate Income Tax Data On Unitary Business Group Members - 2012 Page 3

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