Peter J. Scalise | TaxConnections

11 Sep 2013

Research or Experimental Expenses? Proposed Treasury Regulations Governing I.R.C. §174 Broadens Definition of Research and Experimentation

Proposed Treasury Regulations issued on September 5, 2013 provide that if expenditures qualify as research or experimentation expenditures, it is irrelevant whether a resulting product is ultimately sold or used in the taxpayer’s trade or business.

As a synopsis, I.R.C. § 174 allows taxpayers to elect to take a current deduction for research and experimentation expenditures in the tax year they are paid or incurred or to defer certain research and experimentation expenditures and amortize them. Since its enactment in 1954, I.R.C. § 174(c) has provided that I.R.C. § 174 does not apply to any expenditure for the acquisition or improvement of land, or for the acquisition or improvement of property to be used in connection with the research or experimentation and of a character that is subject to depreciation or depletion. In 1957, the IRS (hereinafter the “Service”) issued Treas. Reg. § 174-2(b)(1) and (b)(4) to implement this rule. This is referred to as the “Depreciable Property Rule”.

Tax professionals have long debated on whether the sale of a product resulting from otherwise qualifying research or experimentation expenditures should subsequently disqualify those expenditures from I.R.C. § 174 treatment. The Service had previously taken the position that I.R.C. § 174(c) precluded I.R.C. § 174 treatment in the case of a subsequent sale of a Read More

Written by Peter J. Scalise | Posted in Federal • Tax Policy • United States

26 Aug 2013

Commercial Building Owners Can Take A Federal Tax Deduction Of Up To $1.80 A Square Foot When They Do This

Whether a commercial property owner is undergoing new construction or remodeling, energy tax incentives should certainly be utilized to essentially tax effect the commercial building owner’s expenditures for undergoing the energy efficient renovation project.

As enacted in The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (hereinafter “EPAct”), the I.R.C. § 179D Energy Tax Deduction for building envelope efficiency encourages building owners to “Build Green” to not only save money by reducing their utility bills on a carry-forward basis, but to also reduce their tax liability on their tax returns as well.

As a synopsis of I.R.C. § 179D, commercial building owners can take a federal-level tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot of the building’s envelope if they install property that reduces energy and power costs. These installations need to be a part of the building’s interior lighting systems (i.e., up to .60 per square foot); Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems (hereinafter “HVAC”; i.e., .60 per square foot for newly installed HVAC equipment); or building envelope (i.e., .60 cents per square foot for windows, doors, roofs or insulation). The deduction is allowed for both new construction and remodeling and the building must be placed in service between 2006 through 2013. Read More

Written by Peter J. Scalise | Posted in United States

20 Aug 2013

U.S. District Court Rules on Whether Research was “Funded” or “Not Funded” for Research & Experimentation Tax Credit Purposes

As set forth in the pivotal case of Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. v. United States, No. 9:12-cv-80334 (S.D. Fla. 2013), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that engineering work conducted under select customer contracts was “not funded” and consequently eligible for the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (hereinafter “Research Tax Credit”) pursuant to I.R.C. § 41, while other contracts were deemed “funded” and not eligible for the Research Tax Credit.

Geosyntec Consultants Inc. (hereinafter “Geosyntec”) is an engineering firm that specializes in matters involving the environment, natural resources and geologic infrastructure. Geosyntec’s core business is to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to environmental problems that are less expensive and disruptive than conventional remediation approaches.

Geosyntec sought a refund of $1,677,432 for Research Tax Credits resulting from 370 client projects on which it worked from 2002 through 2005. At issue before the court in cross-motions for summary judgment motion was whether the services rendered by Geosyntec on those projects should be classified as “funded research” under I.R.C. § 41(d)(4)(H) and thus not eligible for the Research Tax Credit.

Pursuant to Treas. Reg. § 1.41-4A(d) there are two requirements for determining whether research and experimentation analysis rendered for a third party is considered “not funded” and therefore not excluded from the Research Tax Credit under I.R.C. § 41(d)(4)(H): Read More

Written by Peter J. Scalise | Posted in United States

15 Aug 2013

Research Basics – Authority and Methodology Part 2 of a 6 Part Series on Research

Let’s do a quick review of the levels of authoritative research sources for the IRS. We are always being told that IRS pubs are not binding or authoritative in scope by the IRS so when we do research we need to dig deeper. The pubs are handy for helping the layman understand the process and they have some pretty good examples and formula computations. But you always need the underlying internal Revenue Code (IRC) for the pub. The IRC is the Holy Bible for the IRS. It gives them their cans and cant’s. It gives them their authority and also limits that authority. It is from whence all things income tax flows. If the IRC is the Bible then the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) is the how-to manual.

The authority on this subject, and the person who I strive to emulate, is Peter J. Scalise. His article, Tax Research Techniques, used with his permission, is the basis for the rest of this post.

• Step 1: Establish the facts and circumstances (Joe Friday Style: Just the facts, Ma’am!)

• Step 2: Determine all tax issues (even if the IRS hasn’t brought them up yet)

• Step 3: Identify the specific authorities involved: (who are YOU dealing with?)

Statutory Authority – The Internal Revenue Code (IRC)

Administrative Authority Read More

Written by Kathryn Morgan | Posted in United States

25 Jul 2013

IRS Issues New Administrative Authority In Connection To Controlled Group Allocations Of The Research And Experimentation Tax Credit

The Internal Revenue Service (hereinafter “the Service”) has issued Notice 2013-20 in connection to the allocation of the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (hereinafter “RTC”) to members of a controlled group. The guidance was in response to modifications made to I.R.C. § 41 as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (hereinafter “ATRA”).

It should be duly recalled that the ATRA simplified the methodology for allocating the RTC to members of a controlled group of corporations and businesses under common control. Under the prior statute and corresponding treasury regulations, all companies under common control that were required to calculate the RTC at the group level were then required to allocate the RTC to the members of the group based upon each member’s standalone RTC. This allocation methodology was principally onerous when group members were required to use different methods for computing their standalone RTCs. The new law provides that the group RTC will now be allocated to the group members based on members’ proportionate share of Qualified Research Expenses (hereinafter “QREs”).

It should be duly noted that for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2011, Notice 2013-20 indicates that the treasury regulations dealing with the RTC allocations for controlled groups (e.g., Treas. Reg. §1.41-6(c) and related examples) no longer apply. In its place, taxpayers should allocate the RTC based on their proportionate share of QREs as outlined within the ATRA. Finally, the notice also indicates that the Service intends to modify Treas. Reg. § 1.41-6 to conform to the new allocation rules.

Written by Peter J. Scalise | Posted in United States