Instructions for 2023 Schedule MA-A 
 
Purpose of Schedule MA-A 
 
Use Schedule MA-A to claim the agriculture credit. The credit is available for taxable years beginning after December 
31, 2012. 
 
Who is Eligible For the Credit 
 
Any individual, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, tax-option (S) corporation, or 
tax-exempt organization may be eligible for the credit. 
 
To be eligible to compute the credit, a claimant must generate receipts from the lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, 
or other disposition from the following:  

• Tangible personal property produced, grown, or extracted in whole or in part by the claimant on or from property 
  assessed as agricultural property under sec. 70.32(2)(a)4., Wis. Stats. 
 
Partnerships,  LLCs treated as partnerships, and tax-option (S) corporations  cannot  claim  the credit;  the credit 
computed  by those entities  flows through to the  partners, members, or shareholders based  on  their ownership 
interests. 
 
Estates and trusts share the credit with their beneficiaries in proportion to the income allocable to each. 
 
The credit must be claimed within four years of the unextended due date of your return. 
 
Agricultural Assessments 
 
Agricultural assessments are performed by local assessors within each municipality.  Each year the governing body 
selects the type of assessment that will be conducted for the current assessment year. While some assessor duties 
are carried out every year, other duties are dependent on the type of assessment being conducted for the municipality.  
 
To find out if your property is assessed as agricultural, and for more information, find the local assessor assigned to 
the county and municipality you reside at:  
revenue.wi.gov/training/assess/assrlist.pdf. 
 
Additional information is also available through The Agricultural Assessment Guide for Wisconsin Property Owners 
is available at:  
revenue.wi.gov/pubs/slf/pb061.pdf 
 
Credit is Income 
 
The credit that you compute on Schedule MA-A is income and must be reported on your Wisconsin franchise or 
income tax return  in the year  after the year  in which the credit was  computed.  The credit must  be  included in 
Wisconsin income to the extent it was not included in federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income. This 
is required even if you are not able to fully utilize the credit in the current taxable year. 
 
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                                          2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

Example: You computed an agriculture credit for 2023. The amount of the credit must be included as income on your 
2024 Wisconsin income or franchise tax return to the extent it is not included in your 2024 federal adjusted gross 
income or federal taxable income.  
 
Carryforward of Unused Credits 
  
The agriculture credit is nonrefundable. Any unused credit may be carried forward for up to 15 years. 
 
If there is a reorganization of a corporation claiming the agriculture credit, the limitations provided by Internal Revenue 
Code (IRC) section 383 may apply to the carryover of any unused credit.  
 
Specific Instructions 
 
Note: If you have qualified production activities income from both manufacturing and agricultural activities, you must 
complete a separate Schedule MA-A and MA-M to compute the credit separately for each activity. 
 
Answer questions A through C if you must complete lines 1-15g of Schedule MA-A. 
 
Part I Instructions 
 
Line 1: Fill in the amount of your production gross receipts.  
 
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, "Production gross receipts" means the sum of gross 
receipts from the lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, or other disposition of qualified production property and 
insurance proceeds received because of the destruction of, or damage to, crops to the extent the proceeds are 
included in federal adjusted gross income for the taxable year. 
 
"Qualified production property" is tangible personal property produced, grown, or extracted in whole or in part by 
the claimant on or from property assessed as agricultural property under sec. 70.32(2)(a)4., Wis. Stats. 
 
Qualified production gross receipts do not include gross receipts income from:  

• Film production 
• Producing, transmitting, or distributing electricity, natural gas, or potable water 
• Constructing real property 
• Engineering or architectural services performed with respect to constructing real property 
• The sale of food and beverages prepared by the claimant at a retail establishment 
• The lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, or other disposition of land 
• Forgiveness of original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds, forgiveness of subsequent PPP loan 
  proceeds, emergency grants of economic injury disaster loans (EIDL) and targeted EIDL advances, or any other 
  government grant or loan program 
   
Line 2: Fill in the cost of goods sold that is allocable to your production gross receipts. 
 
Cost of goods sold expenses paid with the original forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds, 
subsequent forgivable PPP loan proceeds, emergency grants of economic injury disaster loans (EIDL) and targeted 
EIDL advances, subsidies for certain loan payments, grants for shuttered venue operators, grants issued by the state 
of Wisconsin related to the COVID-19 pandemic authorized under 42 USC 801, and grants issued by the Wisconsin 
Economic Development Corporation under the ethnic minority emergency grant program are deducted in determining 
qualified production activities income.   
 
Line 3: Fill in the direct costs allocable to production gross receipts. 
 
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                                          2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

"Direct costs" includes all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying 
on the trade or business that are deductible as business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code and identified 
as direct costs in your managerial or cost accounting records. This includes depreciation expense computed under 
the IRC in effect for Wisconsin that are classified as direct costs.  
 
There are no specific examples of direct costs provided in the statutes because not every business operation will 
account for direct and indirect costs in the same manner.  Because of this variability, the determination of direct costs 
relies, in part, on the taxpayer's accounting records.  
 
In general, direct costs  are those costs that directly  benefit one  specific project or good  that is being 
produced.  Examples of direct costs may include production employee wages, supplies consumed directly in the 
production process, and costs of consultants used in producing the finished product. 
 
Direct costs paid with the original  forgivable  Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds,  subsequent 
forgivable  PPP loan  proceeds, emergency grants  of economic  injury disaster  loans (EIDL) and targeted EIDL 
advances, subsidies for certain loan payments, grants for shuttered venue operators, grants issued by the state of 
Wisconsin related to the COVID-19 pandemic authorized under 42 USC 801, and grants issued by the Wisconsin 
Economic Development Corporation under the ethnic minority emergency grant program are deducted in determining 
qualified production activities income.   
 
Line 6: Fill in your indirect costs. 
 
"Indirect costs" includes all ordinary and necessary expenses (not just those allocable to production gross receipts) 
paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on the trade or business that are deductible as business expenses 
under the Internal Revenue Code, other than cost of goods sold and direct costs, and identified as indirect costs in 
your managerial or cost accounting records. This includes depreciation expenses computed under the IRC in effect 
for Wisconsin that are classified as indirect costs.  
 
Like direct costs, there are no specific examples of indirect costs provided in the statutes because not every business 
operation will account for direct and indirect costs in the same manner.  Because of this variability, the determination 
of indirect costs relies, in part, on the taxpayer's accounting records.  
 
In general, indirect costs are costs that benefit more than one specific project or good that is being produced and 
cannot be easily traced to a single project or good being produced. Examples of indirect costs may include building 
rent, legal  expenses,  business insurance, advertising expenses, accounting and administrative salaries, office 
supplies, and certain utilities.  
 
Indirect costs paid with the original forgivable Paycheck Protection  Program (PPP) loan  proceeds,  subsequent 
forgivable  PPP loan  proceeds, emergency grants  of economic  injury disaster  loans (EIDL) and targeted EIDL 
advances, subsidies for certain loan payments, grants for shuttered venue operators, grants issued by the state of 
Wisconsin related to the COVID-19 pandemic authorized under 42 USC 801, and grants issued by the Wisconsin 
Economic Development Corporation under the ethnic minority emergency grant program are deducted in determining 
qualified production activities income.   
 
Line 8: Fill in all gross receipts of the business.  
 
"Gross receipts" is all gross income from whatever source, except for those items specifically excluded under the 
Internal Revenue Code as adopted by Wisconsin and otherwise excluded under Wisconsin law. Include gross sales, 
gross dividends, gross interest income, gross rents, gross royalties, the gross sales price from the disposition of 
capital assets and business assets, gross income from pass-through entities, and all other gross receipts that are 
included in income before apportionment. 
 
Gross receipts do not include forgiveness of original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds, subsequent 
forgivable  PPP loan  proceeds, emergency grants  of economic  injury disaster  loans (EIDL) and targeted EIDL 
advances, subsidies for certain loan payments, grants for shuttered venue operators, grants issued by the state of 
Wisconsin related to the COVID-19 pandemic authorized under 42 USC 801, and grants issued by the Wisconsin 
Economic Development Corporation under the ethnic minority emergency grant program. 
 
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                                             2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

Note: For individuals, do not include gross receipts or income from sources not related to the business.  For example, 
do not include your spouse's wages earned from an employer, and do not include rental income from an apartment 
building reported on federal Schedule E. 
 
Line 9: Divide the amount on line 7 by the amount on line 8 and multiply that amount by 100. Fill in the result on line 
9. Carry your decimal to four places, rounding off the fourth position. 
 
Line 12a: If all of the agricultural activity occurred in Wisconsin on property that was assessed as agricultural under 
sec. 70.32(2)(a)4., Wis. Stats., check the box, skip lines 12b and 13, and enter 100.0000 on line 14.  There is no 
requirement to complete the  agriculture  property factor on lines 12b  and  13 because you are certifying  that all 
agricultural activity took place in Wisconsin. 
 
Line 12b: Fill in the average value of your real property and improvements assessed as agriculture property under 
sec. 70.32(2)(a)4., Wis. Stats., owned or rented and used in Wisconsin during the taxable year to produce, grow, or 
extract qualified production property. 
 
Property owned by the claimant is valued at its original cost and property rented by the claimant is valued at an 
amount equal to the annual rental paid, less any annual rental received from sub-rentals, multiplied by eight (8). 
 
The average value of property is determined by averaging the values at the beginning and ending of the taxable year, 
except that the Secretary of Revenue may require the averaging of monthly values during the taxable year, if such 
averaging is reasonably required to properly reflect the average value of the property. 
 
The amount to enter on line 12b of Schedule MA-A does not come from the assessed value of the farm on the 
property tax bills. Instead, the property value is based on the original cost of the property provided on a real estate 
closing statement, purchase invoices, or similar document.  
 
Line 13: Fill in the average value of all your real property and improvements owned or rented during the taxable year 
and used to produce, grow, or extract qualified production property. 
 
The amount to enter on line 13 of Schedule MA-A does not come from the assessed value of the farm on the property 
tax bills. Instead, the property value is based on the original cost of the property provided on a real estate closing 
statement, purchase invoices, or similar document. 
 
Line 14: Divide the amount on line 12b by the amount on line 13 and multiply that amount by 100. Fill in the result 
on line 14. Carry your decimal to four places, rounding off the fourth position. 
 
Line 15a: Multiply line 11 by the decimal amount on line 14.  
 
•   If you are a corporation that is required to file its Wisconsin franchise or income tax return on Form 4 or Form 4T, 
    also complete line 15b and 15d.  
•   If you are a corporation required to file Form 6, complete lines 15c and 15d.   
•   Individuals, partnerships, tax-option (S) corporations, and fiduciaries may skip to line 15e after completing line 
    15a. 
 
Line 15b: If you are a single entity Form 4 or Form 4T filer, fill in the amount from line 11 of Form 4 or line 10 of Form 
4T. 
 
Line 15c: If you are a combined group member filing Form 6, the amount to fill in on line 15c is the Wisconsin net 
income as computed in the instructions for Form 6, Part III as follows: 

     Share of combined unitary income (line 2+3) 
+   Income from separate entity items (line 4) 
-    Net capital loss adjustment (line 5) 
-    Net business loss carryforward (line 7) 
     Wisconsin net income 
 
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                                          2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

Line 15d: Corporations filing Form 4 or Form 4T should enter the smaller of lines 15a or 15b. Corporations filing 
Form 6 should enter the smaller of lines 15a or 15c. 
 
Line 15e: Individuals, partnerships, tax-option (S) corporations, and fiduciaries should enter the amount from line 
15a. 
 
Line 15f - Individuals and fiduciaries:   The amount of eligible qualified production activities income that may be 
claimed in computing the agriculture credit is required to be reduced by the amount of qualified production activities 
income taxed by another state upon which the Wisconsin credit for taxes paid to another state is claimed.   
 
Enter the amount of eligible qualified production activities income that was taxed by another state and used to claim 
the Wisconsin credit for tax paid to another state.  Do not include partnership or tax-option (S) corporation income on 
this line; it will be accounted for on line 17.   
 
Line 17: Fill in the amount of credit passed through from tax-option (S) corporations, partnerships, LLCs treated as 
partnerships, estates, or trusts. The pass-through credit is shown on Schedule 5K-1 for shareholders of tax-option 
(S) corporations, Schedule 3K-1 for partners and LLC members, and Schedule 2K-1 for beneficiaries of estates or 
trusts. Fill in the name, federal employer identification number (FEIN), and amount of credit passed through from the 
entity. If you were allocated a credit from more than one pass-through entity, attach a schedule showing each entity's 
name, FEIN, and amount of credit. Fill in the total pass-through credit on line 17. Attach the schedule to Schedule 
MA-A.  
 
Limitation when Credit for Tax Paid to Other States is Claimed 
 
The amount of eligible qualified production activities income that may be claimed in computing the agriculture credit 
is required to be reduced by the amount of qualified production activities income taxed by another state upon which 
the Wisconsin credit for taxes paid to another state is claimed. 
 
When an individual or fiduciary receives the agriculture credit from a partnership, tax-option (S) corporation, or estate 
or trust, and the Wisconsin credit for tax paid to another state is claimed on the same eligible qualified production 
activities income, the individual or fiduciary will need to reduce the eligible qualified production activities income by 
the amount used to compute the credit for tax paid to another state.  
 
The partnership, tax-option (S) corporation, and estate or trust is required to inform the partners, shareholders, and 
beneficiaries of their share of the qualified production activities income that is taxable in another state at either the 
pass-through  level or partner/shareholder/beneficiary level. This information should be provided as an attached 
statement to the Schedules 2K-1, 3K-1, and 5K-1. 
 
Agriculture Credit Limitation Computation 
 
1. Share of total eligible qualified production activities income            1. ________________ 
2. Share of eligible qualified production activities income upon which the  
    credit for tax paid to another state is claimed                          2. ________________ 
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1                                               3. ________________ 
4. Multiply line 3 by 0.075 (7.5%). This is the agriculture credit before 
   business income limitation in Part II                                     4. ________________ 
 
For additional information, refer to the common questions: https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-MandA-
QualProd.aspx 
 
Line 18a: Fiduciaries – Prorate the credit from line 18 between the entity and its beneficiaries in proportion to the 
income allocable to each. Show the beneficiaries’ portion of the credit on line 18a. Show the credit for each beneficiary 
on Schedule 2K-1. 
 
Line 18b: Subtract line 18a from line 18. This is the estate’s or trust’s portion of the credit.   
 
Line 19: Enter the amount of agriculture credit that was not previously used and has not expired.  Include Schedule 
CF with your tax return. 

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                                  2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

Line 21: Individuals  and  fiduciaries  only:  Complete the business income limitation table  in  Part II.  See the 
instructions for Part II for details on completing the table. The credit, including any credits carried over, may be offset 
only against the amount of the tax imposed upon or measured by the business operations of the claimant on which 
the credit is computed: 
 
• For shareholders of a tax-option corporation, the credit  may  be  offset only against the tax imposed  on  the 
  shareholder's prorated share of the tax-option corporation's income.   
• For partners of a partnership, the credit may be offset only against the tax imposed on the partner's distributive 
  share of partnership income.  
 •  For members of a limited liability company, the credit may be offset only against the tax imposed on the member's 
  distributive share of the limited liability company's income.       
 
Line 22: Individuals and fiduciaries should enter the smaller of lines 20 or 21.  All other types of taxpayers should 
enter the amount from line 20. Include Schedule CF with your tax return if the credit was not used in full. 
 
Enter the amount of credit from line 22 on the appropriate line of Schedule CR. See the following exceptions:  
 
• Combined group members – Enter the amount of credit on Form 6, Part V, line 1 instead of Schedule CR. 
 
• Tax-option (S) corporations, partnerships, and LLCs treated as partnerships – Prorate the amount of credit on 
  line 22 among the shareholders, partners, or members based on their ownership interest. Show the credit for 
  each shareholder on Schedule 5K-1 and for each partner or member on Schedule 3K-1. 
 
Part II Instructions 
 
Business Income Limit Computation 

The business income limitation applies to individuals and fiduciaries only. This includes individuals who are a partner 
in a partnership, shareholder in a tax-option (S) corporation, and/or a member of a limited liability company not taxed 
as a corporation.   

Corporations, partnerships, and tax-option (S) corporations should not complete Part II. 

Column b: Enter your tax. Your tax is one of the following: 
• Individuals: Form 1, line 12 or Form 1NPR, line 38 multiplied by line 32. 
• Estates and Trusts: Form 2, line 6c or Form 4T, line 19.  
 
Column c:  
Individuals, estates, and trusts should fill in the amount of their Wisconsin tax liability computed without regard to any 
amounts of income, deduction, or expense from the business operations in which the credit was computed. You must 
make a separate computation for each pass-through entity or sole proprietorship from which you computed a credit. 
 
If you are an individual or fiduciary, you may determine your recomputed tax liability by completing a  second 
Wisconsin return which does not include these income, expense, or deduction items. The amount to enter in column 
c is the recomputed amount from the following lines: 

• Individuals:  Form 1, line 12 or Form 1NPR, line 38 multiplied by line 32. 
• Estates and Trusts:  Form 2, line 6c or Form 4T, line 19. 
 
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                                        2023 Schedule MA-A Instructions 

Column d:  

Individuals, estates, and trusts subtract the amount in column c from the amount in column b for each pass-through 
entity or sole proprietorship. 
 
Column e: 

Enter the amount of credit computed that is attributable to the activities of the business that generated the credit. For 
example, if the total credit computed on line 20 is $5,000, but is from multiple businesses, and Business A's portion 
of the credit is $1,000, enter $1,000 in column e for Business A. 

 Required Attachments to Return 
 
• For claimants  not  receiving the credit passed through from a partnership, tax-option  (S) corporation, limited 
  liability company, estate, or trust:  The only documentation you are required to include with your tax return is 
  Wisconsin Schedule MA-A. 

• For claimants receiving the credit passed through from a partnership, tax-option (S) corporation, limited liability 
  company, estate, or trust:  You are required to include Wisconsin Schedule MA-A and a copy of the Wisconsin 
  Schedule 2K-1, Schedule 3K-1, and/or Schedule 5K-1. 
 
Additional Information 
 
For more information, you may contact any Department of Revenue office or: 

• Refer  to  the  manufacturing  and  agriculture  credit  common questions at:  revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-
  manufagr.aspx 
• Call (608) 266-2772  
• E-mail your question to: DORFranchise@wisconsin.gov 
 
                                        Applicable Laws and Rules 
  This document provides statements or interpretations of the following laws and regulations enacted as of December 
  1, 2023:  Chapter 71 Wis. Stats. 

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