IRS provides new direction on R&D expenses

The Internal Revenue Service recently published new interim guidance for companies to use when amortizing research or experimental expenditures — a new requirement for tax year 2022 created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law’s changeover from allowing deductions to requiring amortization was expected to create significant tax burdens for small businesses, which could prove particularly destructive to newer companies funded primarily through nonfungible grants or contracts. According to an initial analysis by Grant Thorton, the proposed rules provide additional direction to help companies identify the appropriate costs for amortization but also could require further accounting method changes. A notable clarification in the rules seems to state that companies providing research services must amortize only those research expenditures that either entail financial risk to the company or would allow the company to use any resulting product for its business. Congress has proposed legislation allowing companies to return to deducting their research expenses, but these rules have not moved forward despite widespread support.