Use of Forming limit diagrams (FLD) in process design of metal forming is a conventional method. Therefore many experimental and theoretical efforts have been carried out in order to investigate the FLDs. Many ways to obtain this FLDs and their effective parameters have been studied. But the stress state at these studies is planar which lead to an untrue model for several metal forming process such as incremental sheet forming. With this technique, the forming limit curve (FLC) appears in a different pattern, revealing an enhanced formability, compared to conventional forming techniques. Therefore, in this study, the effect of through thickness shear stress has been examined on the prediction of the forming limit diagrams (FLDs). Determination of the FLD is based on the Marciniak and Kuczynski (M–K) model with some modifications on the stress states for consideration of the through thickness shear stress effects. Also, the effective range of this stress has been investigated. The results showed that if the through thickness shear stress has a 10 per cent of yield stress value, this stress component has no effect on the FLD.