Final Repair/Capitalization Regulations
In September 2013, the IRS released much-anticipated final “repair” regulations that explain when taxpayers must capitalize costs and when they can deduct expenses for acquiring, maintaining, repairing and replacing tangible property. The final regulations make many significant taxpayer-friendly changes to temporary regulations issued in 2011. The final regulations are considered to challenge virtually every business because of their broad application.
Compliance timetable. The final regulations apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, but provide taxpayers with the option to apply either the final or temporary regulations to tax years beginning after 2011 and before 2014. The IRS has promised critical “transition guidance” later this year to help taxpayers deal with implementation regarding how to apply the regulations for years prior to 2014 as well as what change-of-accounting procedures should be followed.
STRATEGY.
As a result of the final regulation’s optional retroactive effective date, some taxpayers may be better off putting certain procedures into place before the start of 2014 to maximize benefits; other taxpayers may consider filing amended returns for 2012 and 2013 to take advantage of certain elections provided in the final regulations. Under all circumstances, taxpayers must use only permissible procedures in their tax years beginning in 2014. Because of all these immediate options and requirements, taxpayers should work on integrating a response to the final regulations as part of their 2013 year-end planning, and have a definite plan in place before mandatory rules become effective on January 1, 2014.
De minimis expensing alternative. The final regulations also include a new de minimis expensing rule that allows taxpayers to deduct certain amounts paid or incurred to acquire or produce a unit of tangible property. If the taxpayer has an Applicable Financial Statement (AFS), written accounting procedures for expensing amounts paid or incurred for such property under certain dollar amounts, and treats such amounts as expenses on its AFS in accordance with its written accounting procedures, the final regulations allow up to $5,000 to be deducted per invoice.
STRATEGY.
To take advantage of the $5,000 de minimis rule, taxpayers must have written book policies in place at the start of the tax year that specify a per-item dollar amount (up to $5,000) that will be expensed for financial accounting purposes. Calendar-year taxpayers, therefore, should have a policy in place by year-end 2013 to qualify for 2014.
STRATEGY.
For smaller businesses, the final regulations added a safe harbor for taxpayers without an AFS. The per-item or invoice threshold amount in that case is $500.