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A comment on Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174). Parent comment

Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by nikkwong on Monday June 09, 2025 @07:15PM (#44230665)
Machinists also produce semi-durable assets. Should we depreciate the output of their labor, too? Like others in the thread, I view this as an assault on blue states or maybe to soften my vindictive tone, as an assault on those who are not his core constituents.
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Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by projektfu on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @07:19AM (#44235385)
If the machinist is doing r&d, it's essentially the same. Suppose you pay a machinist to build parts for a new machine. This cost would be capitalized. But if you pay them to repair a machine, it's expensed.
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Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by andrewlgood on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @09:29AM (#44236563)
IF the machinists are doing R&D, they get the same treatment as software engineers.
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Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by PaulDavisThe1st on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @12:03PM (#44238433)
Nope.

For machinists, it is up to the employer whether to treat their work as R&D or a regular expense.

After Sec 174, for s/w developers, there is no choice.

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