New budget legislation, SB 167, passed by the California Legislature on June 13th and signed into law by the governor on June 27, 2024 will have significant impacts on taxpayers by suspending net operating loss (NOL) deductions and limiting the utilization of credits from 2024 through 2026.
The Fourth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision involving Section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code, which encompasses the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. Specifically, on June 24, 2024, the Fourth Circuit upheld a Tax Court decision in favor of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Last fall, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS” or the “Service”) published detailed proposed changes to the Form 6765 Credit for Increasing Research Activities, also known as the R&D Tax Credit. The Service asked for comment on the form from stakeholders in advance of the formal draft release process, with the plan for these changes to take effect for tax year 2024. On June 21, 2024, the IRS published IR-2024-171 with an updated Form and details as to how the comments received impacted adjustments to the form and confirming it will go into effect for tax year 2024.
What's the trend entering 2024?
For many, it will be the continuation of technological innovations and upgrades to grow their respective industries. However, which industries are benefiting? On the whole, senior living operators are continuing to spend on technology and plan to further do so this year. The large majority of respondents to this survey plan to increase their tech budgets significantly in 2024.
While investing time and money into the increase in technology, the introduction of the Research & Development (R&D) tax credit may become essential to companies developing and creating new or updated technology for senior living operators.
The US Tax Court (the Court) recently issued a decision, holding that the Petitioners were not entitled to a research and development (R&D) credit under Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) § 41. Petitioners in the consolidated cases are shareholders in an S-Corporation, Catalytic Products International, Inc. (“CPI” or “the Company”), that designs and supplies air pollution control systems. CPI claimed a research credit under I.R.C. § 41 in connection with 19 projects, based on both employee wage expenses and supply expenses incurred in connection with the projects and systems the Company supplied. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice of deficiency related to the credit claim, and the Petitioners subsequently filed a timely petition with the Tax Court.
For several years, CTI has championed construction companies’ eligibility for the credit for increasing research activities (“R&D tax credit”) under Section 41. We have worked with numerous construction companies to successfully identify, calculate, and substantiate the credits. The most recent tax court opinion lends support to the qualification of many aspects of design-build construction projects.
As discussed in our recent blog, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 included a delayed provision that requires taxpayers to begin capitalizing and amortizing research and experimental (R&E) expenditures under Section 174 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2021. Prior to this provision, taxpayers had the option to deduct R&E costs in connection with the taxpayer’s trade or business during the taxable year incurred. Starting in tax year 2022, R&E costs will need to be capitalized and amortized over a 5-year period for domestic expenses and over a 15-year period for foreign research, beginning with the midpoint of the taxable year in which such expenditures are paid or incurred.
Two recent court opinions – Moore v. Commissioner and Little Sandy Coal v. Commissioner – reiterate the pitfalls of claiming the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit without sufficient documentation. In both cases, the courts completely disallowed the taxpayers’ R&D tax credit despite recognition that the taxpayers undertook R&D activities and had some level of R&D expenses. The issue was that the taxpayers did not meet their burden of proof to show that all of the activities and associated expenses qualified, and the taxpayers did not provide a reasonable basis for estimating what portion could be properly included.
Now more than ever, recent court precedence has created the need to partner with a firm that understands your industry to maximize Research & Development tax credits. This article explains the result of Little Sandy Coal vs. Commissioner and why it’s important to every organization.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) creates the need to amortize research and experimental expenditures in tax years after December 31, 2021. This article provides an overview of section 174, then dives into the changes, updates, and questions regarding taxpayers and their involvement with Section 174 of the TCJA as of the 2022 tax year.
