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How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Revamps R&E Tax Strategies

Research and Experimental (R&E) expenditures are pivotal in driving innovation and development across various industries. Traditionally, tax laws have leveraged these expenses to encourage innovation, permitting businesses to deduct these expenditures and thereby reduce taxable income.

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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted on July 4, 2025, has restored the ability for businesses to immediately deduct domestic R&E expenditures, reversing a contentious alteration made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. This legislative change, introduced under the revamped Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 174A, reinstates a crucial incentive for fostering U.S.-based innovation, while maintaining stricter capitalization protocols for foreign R&E activities.

Defining R&E Expenses R&E expenses, often interchangeably called R&D (research and development) costs, are broadly defined as costs linked to the creation or enhancement of a product, including software development. Common costs include:

  • Salaries for employees immersed in research activities.

  • Costs of materials and supplies utilized in research.

  • Expenses associated with third-party research services.

  • Overhead costs tied to facilities and equipment used for R&E activities, such as rent, utilities, insurance, and maintenance.

The IRS’s extensive definition encourages a broad spectrum of innovative efforts.

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Evolution of R&E Expensing Prior to the TCJA amendments, businesses could opt under the former Section 174 to either immediately deduct R&E expenses in the year they were accrued or capitalize and amortize them over 60 months, offering cash flow advantages to innovation-intensive companies.

However, the TCJA overhaul, effective in 2022, mandated that all R&E expenditures be capitalized and amortized over five years domestically and 15 years for international research. This shift placed substantial cash tax burdens on businesses, notably startups with significant R&D costs but limited revenue, as they had to defer deductions, delaying immediate tax benefits.

The Impact of OBBBA on R&E Expensing Effective from tax years starting after December 31, 2024, the OBBBA heralds new Section 174A, significantly shifting the landscape for domestic R&E.Image 3

Domestic vs. Foreign Research Division The OBBBA draws a clear line based on the locale of research activities:

  • Domestic R&E Expenditures: Taxpayers can fully deduct these expenses in the year incurred, restoring pre-2022 favorable treatment and incentivizing domestic research. Alternatively, they may choose to capitalize and amortize these costs over no fewer than 60 months.

  • Foreign R&E Expenditures: The requirement to capitalize and amortize these over 15 years persists. The OBBBA prohibits immediate recovery of any unamortized basis in foreign R&E upon disposition or abandonment after May 12, 2025, necessitating multinational companies to reconsider research locations to optimize tax benefits.

Expensing Options for Amortized Costs The OBBBA affords transitional relief for R&E costs capitalized during 2022–2024 under TCJA rules. Taxpayers can accelerate these deductions from the 2025 tax year:

  • Option 1: Full Deduction in 2025: Deduct the full unamortized balance of domestic R&E costs in the first tax year after December 31, 2024.

  • Option 2: Two-Year Amortization: Deduct the remaining balance in two equal parts, across the 2025 and 2026 tax years.

  • Option 3: Continued Amortization: Maintain the original five-year amortization schedule.

  • Eligible Small Businesses: Businesses meeting specific turnover criteria (average annual gross receipts of $31 million or less) may opt for:


    • Retroactive Full Deduction with Amended Returns: These businesses can retroactively apply the full expensing rules to tax years commencing post December 31, 2021, by submitting amended returns (e.g., for 2022-2024) to claim tax refunds under the prior rules. This election, available until July 4, 2026, must align with R&D tax credit provisions (Section 280C(c)), possibly necessitating R&D credit adjustments.

Interrelationship With Other Tax Laws The revamped R&E expensing rules significantly interplay with other Tax Code sections, including net operating losses (NOL), bonus depreciation, business interest deductions, and international taxations for large corporations. Strategic planning must consider these interactions to maximize benefits, leveraging new deductions for reduced regular tax liabilities.

Accounting Transition - The shift to these new provisions is deemed an automatic accounting method change, easing compliance. Businesses stand to gain substantially from "catch-up" deductions, releasing them from prior capital mandates. IRS guidance, via Rev Proc 2025-28, details procedure adjustments, encouraging taxpayers to opt in by appending a statement to returns, bypassing Form 3115 requirements.

For a detailed analysis and strategic insight tailored to your firm’s needs, contact Thompson-Smith CPA, LLC, as strategic decisions on these provisions can influence other tax aspects like NOL and interest expense limitations.

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