Chapter 7 Property Acquisitions and Cost Recovery Deductions 7-1 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill Education Copyright © 2015 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.

Objectives Decide if an expenditure should be deducted or capitalized Define tax basis and adjusted basis Explain why leverage can reduce the after-tax cost of assets Compute cost of goods sold for tax purposes Understand the MACRS framework Apply the Section 179 expensing election Compute amortization of purchased intangibles Distinguish between cost and percentage depletion

Expense or Capitalize? Deduction allowed for all ordinary and necessary business expenses Deduction prohibited for permanent improvements to increase the value of property Cost of improvement is capitalized

Capitalized Costs Similar to GAAP, if an expenditure creates or enhances an identifiable asset with a useful life substantially beyond the current year, the expenditure must be capitalized Some capitalized costs can be recovered through depreciation, amortization, or depletion deductions A capitalized cost that is not depreciable, amortizable, or depletable is recovered only on disposition of the asset

Expense or Capitalize? Repairs and maintenance Expenditures that are regular and recurring in nature and do not materially add to either the value or the useful life of an asset are deductible Repair and maintenance expense The distinction between a repair and a capital improvement is frequently a matter of dispute between taxpayers and the IRS

Tax Subsidies Permit Expensing The tax law permits immediate expensing of certain capital expenditures Indirect federal subsidy for taxpayers who make these tax-preferred expenditures One example is research and development (R&D) expenditures Indirect federal subsidy to encourage business to engage in basic research

Tax Subsidies Permit Expensing Other examples include: Advertising Industry specific deductions: Farmers can deduct soil and water conservation expenditures as well as the cost of fertilizers Oil and gas producers can deduct intangible drilling and development costs (IDC) of wells

Tax Basis Basis is key to calculating cash flows because taxpayers recover basis at no tax cost Tax basis = unrecovered dollars represented by an asset Every asset has a tax basis In most cases, the initial basis of an asset is cost Cost is the FMV of cash, property, or services expended to acquire an asset Includes sales tax and incidental costs relating to placing the asset in service

Adjusted Tax Basis Adjusted basis equals initial basis reduced by depreciation, amortization, or depletion deductions An asset’s adjusted tax basis may be different than the asset’s adjusted book basis Initial book and tax basis may be different Book and tax recovery deductions may be different ≠

Tax Basis and Leverage Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to purchase assets Cost basis includes the amount of borrowed funds Firm A used $10 of its own cash and $80 of borrowed cash to buy an asset Firm A’s cost basis is $90 Interest paid on borrowed funds is deductible

Cost Recovery Methods Inventory = cost of goods sold Tangible assets = depreciation Intangible assets = amortization Natural resources = depletion

Cost of Goods Sold Calculating cost of goods sold Beginning inventory Capitalized costs Inventory available for sale (Ending inventory) Cost of goods sold Capitalized costs may be greater for tax than book Unicap rules for capitalization of indirect costs (overhead) Temporary unfavorable book/tax difference Reverses through cost of goods sold

Inventory Valuation Methods Taxpayers may value ending inventory and cost of goods sold by using: Specific identification method First-In, first-out convention (FIFO) Last-in, first-out convention (LIFO) Must be consistent with financial reporting

Depreciation Depreciation applies to tangible assets that: Lose value over time due to wear and tear, obsolescence Buildings are depreciable but land is not Have a reasonably ascertainable useful life Artwork is not depreciable

Depreciation Before 1981, tax depreciation was based on an asset’s estimated useful life. Under MACRS, estimated useful life is irrelevant The MACRS recovery period is usually shorter than an asset’s estimated useful life. What affect does this have on the purchasing behavior of firms? The shorter lives reduce the after-tax cost of the assets and acts as an incentive for firms to make capital acquisitions

MACRS Recovery Periods and Methods Depreciation for 3, 5, 7, and 10-year recovery property is computed under the 200% declining balance method Depreciation for 15 and 20-year recovery property is computed under the 150% declining balance method Depreciation for 25, 27.5, 39, and 50-year recovery property is computed under the straight-line method

Depreciation Conventions for Personalty Depreciation for 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20-year recovery property (personalty) is generally based on a half-year convention One-half year of depreciation is allowed for the year in which property is placed in service Convention built in to IRS Tables One-half year of depreciation is allowed for the year in which property is disposed of Not built into IRS Tables Midquarter convention applies if more than 40% of personalty acquired in a year is placed in service in the 4th quarter

Depreciation Convention for Realty Depreciation for 25, 27.5, 39, and 50-year recovery property (realty) is based on a midmonth convention One-half month of depreciation is allowed for the month in which property is placed in service Convention built into IRS Tables One-half month of depreciation is allowed for the month in which property is disposed of Not built into IRS Tables

Limited Depreciation for Passenger Automobiles Maximum annual depreciation per vehicle placed in service in 2013 2013 $3,160 2014 $5,100 (2nd year) 2015 $3,050 (3rd year) 2016 $1,875 (4th year and beyond) Compute depreciation per MACRS, then apply the limit

Section 179 Expensing Election Taxpayer may expense a limited amount of cost of qualifying property placed in service in a year Limited amount is $25,000 in 2014 ($500,000 in 2013) Qualifying property is depreciable personalty and off-the-shelf software Capitalized cost (unexpensed) is recovered through MACRS Limited amount is reduced by the aggregate cost of qualifying property in excess of a threshold Threshold is $200,000 in 2014 ($2,000,000 in 2013)

Section 179 Example Mayer Inc. purchased $69,200 of qualifying property in 2014 Mayer may expense $25,000 of the cost and capitalize $44,200 as the depreciable basis of the property Lowe Inc. purchased $207,000 of qualifying property in 2014 Lowe must reduce its limited amount by $7,000 ($207,000 - $200,000 threshold) Lowe may expense $18,000 of the cost ($25,000 – $7,000) and capitalize $51,200 as the depreciable basis of the property

Taxable Income Limitation The deduction for a Section 179 expense is limited to taxable business income before the deduction Any nondeductible expense carries forward to future years In 2014, Boyd Inc. elected to expense $12,000 of the cost of qualifying property Boyd’s taxable income before any Section 179 deduction was $9,800 Boyd’s Section 179 deduction is limited to $9,800 Boyd has a $2,200 expense carryforward to 2015

Bonus Depreciation Bonus depreciation not available for 2014 acquisitions 100% bonus depreciation permits immediate expensing of 100% of the cost of qualifying property placed in service after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012 Qualifying property is new depreciable personalty, computer software and certain leasehold improvements 50% bonus applies to acquisitions after December 31, 2012 and before January 1, 2014

Bonus Depreciation Example Evans Inc. acquired new depreciable personalty costing $4 million on January 3, 2013 Evans could deduction $2 million ($4 million × 50%) in 2013 using bonus depreciation The remaining $2 million depreciable basis would be recovered under MACRS, beginning in 2013 If the property were acquired on January 3, 2011 Evans may deduct the entire $4 million cost in 2011 using bonus depreciation If the property were acquired on January 3, 2014 Bonus depreciation not permitted; MACRS would apply

Intangible Assets Intangible assets have no physical substance Examples include leases, patents, and other contractual rights The basis of an intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line method over the determinable life Intangible assets with no determinable life are not amortizable Examples include securities and partnership interests

Organizational and Start-Up Costs Organizational costs of a corporation or partnership include legal, accounting, and filing fees attributable to the formation of the entity Start-up costs include the cost of investigating a new business and expenses incurred before the new business is operational Both costs are subject to the same cost recovery rule First $5,000 is deductible Deduction reduced by any amount of cost in excess of $50,000 Nondeductible costs are capitalized and amortized over 15 years

Leasehold Costs and Improvements The cost of acquiring a lease is amortized over the term of the lease Physical improvements to leased property are capitalized and depreciated over the appropriate MACRS recovery period This cost recovery rule applies even if the term of the lease is shorter than the MACRS recovery period

Acquisition Intangibles A firm that purchases an entire business for a lump-sum price must allocated the cost to both tangible and intangible assets Cost allocation based on FMV of identifiable assets Any residual cost is allocable to purchased goodwill Capitalized cost of most acquisition intangibles (including goodwill) is amortized over 15 years

Amortization of Purchased Goodwill For tax purposes, the cost of purchased goodwill is amortized over 15 years For book purposes, goodwill is not amortized Amortization deduction results in a favorable book/tax difference Firms must test purchased goodwill annually for any impairment to its value Any write-down of goodwill is a nondeductible expense resulting in an unfavorable book/tax difference

Depletion Taxpayers recover the capitalized cost of productive mines and wells through depletion Depletion deduction equals the greater of cost depletion or percentage depletion Cost depletion = unrecovered basis × units of production sold/estimated total units in the ground Percentage depletion = statutory % of gross income from the mine or well Allowable even after basis has been reduced to zero