I qualified for the Oklahoma Credit for Employees in the Aerospace Sector since 1/2/2018, but have never claimed it. What do I need to do to claim the full $25,000 since I can't amend tax returns that far back?

[FSBassett]

I have searched and searched for help with this question and have no clue how I should handle this or how I need to fill out the OK Form 564.  I was completely clueless, so I did not attempt to in my 2024 tax return.  Please give details instructions on how to handle this and how to fill out the 564 form for this situation.  Thanks in advance! 

[Vanessa A]

Do you still qualify for this credit?

If so, you can amend your 2022, 2023 and 2024 tax returns and claim a refund. For 2023 and 2024, you would only be able to claim a carry over credit, not the actual credit since it is past the 5 years.  The credit is listed on the OK credits page. 

For years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, you would be able to amend your return IF you had a tax liability for those years of less than $5,000 and would be able to carry forward the credit.  

Ex.  If in 2018, you were eligible for the $5,000 credit, and your tax liability was $2,000, you would be able to carry forward $3,000.  You would use up $2,000, and if you would have filed or amended prior to 2021, you would have received a refund of $2,000, but since it is past 3 years you are no longer able to claim a refund.  You can however, amend and carry forward any additional amounts.  

To claim the credit, you must be in your first 5 years of employment in OK with a qualified employer.  The credit is a non-refundable credit, but can be carried over from year to year for up to 5 years.

For line 1, the credit would be $5,000

Line 2, is your carryover amount not used in the previous years

line 3 is the total credit you have available. 

Here are the instructions on how to file an amended return. 

[FSBassett]

Thank you very much for that thorough response.  I'm confused by what you said at the end though in your statement "To claim the credit, you must be in your first 5 years of employment in OK with a qualified employer."

So, if I'm no longer in my first 5 years of employement since it's 2025 and I started in 2018 with a different employer than the one I'm with now, do I no longer qualify for this credit; i.e. would it be completely pointless for me to attempt to claim it?

Thanks again!