Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses

Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by twodave on Saturday November 04, 2023 @01:32PM (#38143233)

I think the obvious implication is that software development is expensive, ongoing and tends to result in relatively short term ROI, and therefore the amortization schedule of 5 years increases the likelihood smaller business will never collect most of it, while larger business that can absorb more up-front costs will be able to collect it pretty easily.

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Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by jncfhnb on Saturday November 04, 2023 @02:05PM (#38143597)

That is not an argument for tax treatment of whether something is an asset

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Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by twodave on Saturday November 04, 2023 @03:00PM (#38144066)

I wasn’t trying to make that argument, but I were I would argue that software itself is more like a liability, or, at the most, a current asset[0]. Source code has no inherent value, and in fact the more you have the more expensive it is.

[0] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentassets.asp

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Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by jncfhnb on Saturday November 04, 2023 @05:32PM (#38145358)

That interpretation is deeply removed from how accounting works, but even if it were a current asset it would still not be an expense

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Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by twodave on Saturday November 04, 2023 @08:38PM (#38146776)

Yeah, I agree it doesn’t fit well in any of the usual accounting boxes. But I think that’s the point, right?

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Re:Tell HN: Submit comments on IRS guidance to SEC 174 expenses by jncfhnb on Monday November 06, 2023 @01:21PM (#38166484)

Building tools or products is clearly an investment

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