Impact of Section 174 Capitalization on Percentage-of-Completion Method Taxpayers
Taxpayers have been grappling with the impacts of the Section 174 capitalization rules ever since they took effect in 2022, especially those in certain industries that recognize revenue related to long-term contracts under the percentage-of-completion rules of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 460. Being that companies in such industries are not independent in their struggles, some brief background and context is provided below:
Pre-2022 Treatment of R&E Costs
Before tax year 2022, taxpayers incurring research and experimental costs could deduct these costs fully within the year in which they were paid. They could also claim the credit for increasing research activities (R&D Credit). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 requires that in tax year 2022 and onward, research costs incurred must be capitalized and amortized over five years if incurred within the U.S. Meanwhile foreign-based research costs must be amortized over a fifteen year period. For taxpaying companies and shareholders, the short-term effect of the rule change is certainly negative. Recognizing such costs over a lengthened period has resulted in substantially increased tax liabilities, despite those companies’ claiming of the R&D Credit to help offset the impact.
Potential Relief for Percentage-of-Completion Method Taxpayers
There is a potential silver lining within the IRC Section 174 capitalization requirement for companies who account for long-term projects using the percentage of completion (PCM) account method. Typically, those industries are construction, architecture, engineering and software development. Within these long-term projects, research costs are often incurred by the contractor. These are necessary to discover information and experiment to achieve the desired project outcomes or results. If the contractor bears financial risk and intellectual property rights – shared or exclusive – then the contractor ‘owns’ the research and development. They also must treat those costs in accordance with IRC Section 174.
PCM Formula and the Treatment of R&E Costs
Within the PCM method, a project’s recognized revenue within a long-term project is recorded according to its percentage of completion on a yearly basis, per the following formulas:
- Percentage of completion = (total costs incurred to date) / (estimated total costs)
- Percentage of completion per year * total contract revenue = recognized revenue per year
This formula results in gross profit from a long-term contract being recognized proportionately each year. Recognition is based on expenses incurred and work performed. With the requirement to capitalize and amortize research and experimentation (R&E) expenses, uncertainty has arisen. Specifically, there is confusion about what amounts to include in the numerator and denominator of the percentage of completion factor used for revenue recognition.
IRS Interim Guidance: Notices 2023-66 and 2023-63
IRS Notice 2023-66 contains interim guidance on the treatment of R&E expenses. The Notice specifies that taxpayers could include only the year’s amortization expense of Section 174 costs within long-term contracts as part of the numerator within the completion factor. Specifically, IRS Notice 2023-63, Section 8.03 provides that companies using the PCM method can include only the amortization expense associated with specified research expenditures (SREs) on a yearly basis – instead of the total amount of SREs incurred during the tax year – for the purposes of the percentage of completion formula above. IRS Notice 2023-63 guidance, however, doesn’t provide clarity on how taxpayers should determine the denominator of the PCM ratio.
Clarifications from IRS Notice 2024-12 and Rev. Proc. 2024-9
IRS Notice 2024-12 updates interim guidance from Notice 2022-63 on Section 174 treatment under Section 460 for PCM taxpayers. It allows reliance on Notice 2023-63 to use only the amortized portion of SRE expenses per year in the PCM numerator. Rev. Proc. 2024-9 permits an automatic accounting method change to apply this guidance to existing long-term contracts. It does not require using the cutoff method based only on new contracts. This allows a Section 481(a) adjustment for post-2021 costs incurred. Taxpayers may also choose to include either the full allocable SRE expenses or just the amortized portion in the PCM denominator.
Recommended Approach to Percentage-of-Completion Method Revenue Recognition
Per the interim and subsequent guidance, a reasonable approach to gross profit recognition under the PCM is therefore as follows. Within the applicable long-term contract and its associated R&E expenditures incurred to achieve the desired results, only the amortized R&E amount for the year is to be included within the numerator of the percentage of completion factor (item #1). The denominator of the formula includes total costs incurred, plus those expected to be incurred. This is calculated as if the Section 174 capitalization rule does not exist.
Strategic Benefit: Alignment of Revenue and Cost Recognition
Applying this method results in a more prolonged recognition of revenue. This timing aligns with the tax-basis recognition of incurred costs. It allows PCM taxpayers to offset some negative effects of delayed cost recognition. They do this by similarly delaying revenue recognition under the same accounting approach.
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