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How the OBBBA Overhauls R&D Tax Planning Strategies

Research and Development (R&D) costs play an integral role in fostering innovation across various sectors. Historically, tax laws have leveraged these expenses to stimulate progress by permitting companies to deduct these from their taxable income, thereby encouraging investment in development.

The landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, reinstates the much-preferred immediate deduction for domestic R&D expenditures. This shift marks a reversal from the changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 and is outlined in the new Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 174A. While 100% of domestic R&D costs can now be deducted, the act sustains more stringent rules for foreign R&D capitalization.

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Clarifying R&D Expenses: Often synonymous with R&E (Research and Experimental) costs, these expenses generally encapsulate activities aimed at product or process enhancement, including software development. Key expenditures comprise:

  • Employee wages for research-focused roles.
  • Costs of materials and supplies used in research.
  • Third-party research service contracts.
  • Overhead costs related to R&D infrastructure, including utilities, rent, and repairs.

The Evolution of R&D Expensing: Prior to amendments by the TCJA, businesses enjoyed the flexibility of either immediately deducting R&D expenses or capitalizing them over 60 months. This option afforded critical liquidity for innovation-centric enterprises. However, post-2021 changes mandated a five-year amortization for domestic research expenses, extending to 15 years for foreign research, which burdened especially early-stage developers with increased tax loads.

R&D Expensing After OBBBA: The OBBBA revives immediate expensing for domestic R&D via Section 174A, effective for fiscal years starting post-2024.

Domestic vs. Foreign Research: The Act differentiates research expenses by location, significantly affecting tax strategy:

  • Domestic R&D Expenditures: Immediate deduction restored for 100% of costs paid or incurred, mimicking pre-2022 advantages and driving U.S.-based research. Alternatively, taxpayers may opt for a 60-month amortization.
  • Foreign R&D Costs: Still subject to 15 years amortization, with no immediate deductions allowed upon asset disposition post-May 12, 2025. This is likely to spur multinational firms to reconsider research site locales to optimize their tax strategies.

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Options for Prior Amortized Expenses: For expenses amortized under the TCJA (2022-2024), the OBBBA offers transition relief, allowing acceleration of unamortized domestic R&D costs from 2025:

  • Full Expensing for 2025: Deduct the remaining balance of unamortized costs outright in 2025.
  • Two-Year Amortization: Distribute deductions equally across 2025 and 2026.
  • Continued Amortization: Proceed with the initial five-year schedule.
  • For Eligible Small Businesses: Retroactively opt for full expensing for tax years post-2021 through amended returns filed by July 4, 2026, coordinating with R&D tax credit requirements.

Interaction with Tax Provisions: These updates significantly intersect with various tax code parts, including net operating losses (NOL), bonus depreciation, and international taxation, stressing the importance of strategic, comprehensive tax planning. Entities are advised to simulate tax outcomes, considering these deductions alongside other available provisions by 2025 to maximize benefits effectively.

Accounting Changes: The transition under the OBBBA is streamlined as an automatic change in accounting method, allowing businesses to catch-up on past deductions swiftly, providing impactful cash flow relief. Simplified guidance has been issued by the IRS via Rev Proc 2025-28, emphasizing how taxpayers can adopt these changes seamlessly.

For tailored tax strategy assessments and modeling the OBBBA options, contact our office. We offer comprehensive guidance to leverage this significant reform within the evolving tax landscape.

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