Expenses versus capital expenditures

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Under the U.S. tax code, businesses expenditures can be deducted from the total taxable income when filing income taxes if a taxpayer can show the funds were used for business-related activities, [1] not personal [2] or capital expenses (i.e., long-term, tangible assets, such as property). [3] Capital expenditures either create cost basis or add to a preexisting cost basis and cannot be deducted in the year the taxpayer pays or incurs the expenditure. [3]

Contents

In terms of its accounting treatment, an expense is recorded immediately and impacts directly the income statement of the company, reducing its net profit. In contrast, a capital expenditure is capitalized, recorded as an asset and depreciated over time.

Four ways costs can be capital expenditures

The Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations (including new regulations proposed in 2006), and case law set forth a series of guidelines that help to distinguish expenses from capital expenditures, although in reality distinguishing between these two types of costs can be extremely difficult. In general, four types of costs related to tangible property must be capitalized: [4]

1. Costs that produce a benefit that will last substantially beyond the end of the taxable year. [5]

2. New assets that have a useful life substantially beyond one year. [3] For example, in Commissioner v. Idaho Power Co., [6] the taxpayer used its own equipment to construct and improve various facilities that it owned. The taxpayer sought to have the depreciation of the construction equipment treated as a deduction. The Court held that because the equipment was used to invest in a capital asset – the new and improved facilities – the costs had to be treated as capital expenditures. [7]

3. Improvements that prolong the life of the property, [8] restore property to a “like-new” condition, or add value to the property. [9] For example, in Fedex Corp. v. United States, [10] the taxpayer performed repairs upon jet engines by removing them from the airplane and then having parts replaced. The taxpayer argued that these expenses were deductible, but the IRS stated that the costs should be capitalized. The court held that the inspection and replacement costs could be deducted because the improvements did not add to the value and did not prolong the life of the airplanes as a whole. [11] In Midland Empire Packing Co. v. Commissioner, [12] the taxpayer added a concrete lining to its basement floor to prevent oil from seeping into where the taxpayer stored meat. The taxpayer argued that the costs of installation were deductible and the tax court agreed. The costs of installation only permitted the taxpayer to continue the plant’s operation. The expenses did not add to the value of the business or permit the taxpayer to make new uses of the basement.

4. Adaptations that permit the property to be used for a new or different purpose. In contrast to Midland Empire Packing Co., in Mt. Morris Drive-In Theatre Co. v. Commissioner , [13] under threat of litigation, the taxpayer was forced to create a new drainage system to prevent run-off rainwater from flooding his neighbor's farm. The taxpayer argued that these costs were deductible, but the tax court disagreed. Because the taxpayer knew in advance the property had an inadequate drainage system, the costs to accomplish this adaptation of the property were a capital expenditure. The costs were not simply an improvement of the preexisting drainage system, but rather a completely new addition to the property that permitted the taxpayer to use the property as a drive-in theater.

Though it is an oversimplification, when trying to distinguish between expenses and capital expenditures it can be helpful to remember that the U.S. tax code attempts to levy tax on those most able to pay it.

Illustrative example

Imagine that a business buys a truck for $50,000 and uses $5,000 this year on gasoline to distribute tomatoes upon which it earned $20,000. If we want to apportion tax on the business according to its abilities to pay we should ask, "how much better off is the business in Year One?" It seems unfair to say that the business is $20,000 better off than at the beginning of the year - after all it spent $55,000 to earn those $20,000. However, it also seems unfair to say that the business is $35,000 worse off (the $20,000 earned minus the $55,000 spent) – after all it also has a truck which it will use for years to come.

Probably the fairest characterization is to say that in Year One the business earned $20,000, spent $5,000 on gas, and "spent" some (but not all) of the value of the truck it purchased. Since the $5,000 on gas was consumed in Year One and all of its value has been provided during Year One its full cost is properly offset against the income of Year One. In other words it is an expense, and it is recorded right away as such. On the other hand, the truck will contribute to income in Year One, but also contribute to income in future years. Since the truck’s benefits are spread over the years that the truck is in use, we will want to spread the cost of the truck over those subsequent years as well. Otherwise the business would appear overly burdened in Year One and unnaturally profitable every year thereafter. Thus the truck is a capital expenditure which should be depreciated. However, keep in mind that while depreciation spreads the cost of a capital asset over several years (for tax purposes) it is not intended to actually mirror the real world wear and tear on the asset.

See also

Related Research Articles

Expenditure is an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive". "Expenses of the table" are expenses of dining, refreshments, a feast, etc.

Depreciation Decrease in asset values, or the allocation of cost thereof

In accountancy, depreciation refers to two aspects of the same concept: first, the actual decrease of fair value of an asset, such as the decrease in value of factory equipment each year as it is used and wears, and second, the allocation in accounting statements of the original cost of the assets to periods in which the assets are used.

An intangible asset is an asset that lacks physical substance. Examples are patents, copyright, franchises, goodwill, trademarks, and trade names, as well as software. This is in contrast to physical assets and financial assets. An intangible asset is usually very difficult to evaluate. They suffer from typical market failures of non-rivalry and non-excludability.

Tax deduction is a reduction of income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and credits. The difference between deductions, exemptions and credits is that deductions and exemptions both reduce taxable income, while credits reduce tax.

Charitable contribution deductions for United States Federal Income Tax purposes are defined in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code as contributions to or for the use of certain nonprofit enterprises. See https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/170

Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure or capital expense is the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land. It is considered a capital expenditure when the asset is newly purchased or when money is used towards extending the useful life of an existing asset, such as repairing the roof.

Consumption of fixed capital

Consumption of fixed capital (CFC) is a term used in business accounts, tax assessments and national accounts for depreciation of fixed assets. CFC is used in preference to "depreciation" to emphasize that fixed capital is used up in the process of generating new output, and because unlike depreciation it is not valued at historic cost but at current market value ; CFC may also include other expenses incurred in using or installing fixed assets beyond actual depreciation charges. Normally the term applies only to producing enterprises, but sometimes it applies also to real estate assets.

Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) is the means by which Canadian businesses may claim depreciation expense for calculating taxable income under the Income Tax Act (Canada). Similar allowances are in effect for calculating taxable income for provincial purposes.

The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) is the current tax depreciation system in the United States. Under this system, the capitalized cost (basis) of tangible property is recovered over a specified life by annual deductions for depreciation. The lives are specified broadly in the Internal Revenue Code. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publishes detailed tables of lives by classes of assets. The deduction for depreciation is computed under one of two methods at the election of the taxpayer, with limitations. See IRS Publication 946 for a 120-page guide to MACRS.

Section 179 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, allows a taxpayer to elect to deduct the cost of certain types of property on their income taxes as an expense, rather than requiring the cost of the property to be capitalized and depreciated. This property is generally limited to tangible, depreciable, personal property which is acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business. Buildings were not eligible for section 179 deductions prior to the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010; however, qualified real property may be deducted now.

Basis, as used in United States tax law, is the original cost of property, adjusted for factors such as depreciation. When property is sold, the taxpayer pays/(saves) taxes on a capital gain/(loss) that equals the amount realized on the sale minus the sold property's basis.

In tax accounting, adjusted basis is the net cost of an asset after adjusting for various tax-related items.

Accelerated depreciation refers to any one of several methods by which a company, for 'financial accounting' or tax purposes, depreciates a fixed asset in such a way that the amount of depreciation taken each year is higher during the earlier years of an asset's life. For financial accounting purposes, accelerated depreciation is expected to be much more productive during its early years, so that depreciation expense will more accurately represent how much of an asset's usefulness is being used up each year. For tax purposes, accelerated depreciation provides a way of deferring corporate income taxes by reducing taxable income in current years, in exchange for increased taxable income in future years. This is a valuable tax incentive that encourages businesses to purchase new assets.

Depreciation recapture is the USA Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedure for collecting income tax on a gain realized by a taxpayer when the taxpayer disposes of an asset that had previously provided an offset to ordinary income for the taxpayer through depreciation. In other words, because the IRS allows a taxpayer to deduct the depreciation of an asset from the taxpayer's ordinary income, the taxpayer has to report any gain from the disposal of the asset as ordinary income, not as a capital gain.

Treasury Regulation 1.183-2 is a Treasury Regulation in the United States, outlining the taxes owed from income deriving from non-business, non-investment activity. Expenses relating to for profit activities, such as business and investment activities, are generally tax deductible under sections 162 and 212, respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code. However, expenses relating to not for profit activities, such as hobbies, are generally not tax deductible.

INDOPCO, Inc. v. Commissioner, 503 U.S. 79 (1992), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that expenditures incurred by a target corporation in the course of a friendly takeover are nondeductible capital expenditures.

Commissioner v. Idaho Power Co., 418 U.S. 1 (1974), was a United States Supreme Court case.

In tax law, amortization refers to the cost recovery system for intangible property. Although the theory behind cost recovery deductions of amortization is to deduct from basis in a systematic manner over an asset's estimated useful economic life so as to reflect its consumption, expiration, obsolescence or other decline in value as a result of use or the passage of time, many times a perfect match of income and deductions does not occur for policy reasons.

<i>Midland Empire Packing Co. v. Commissioner</i>

Midland Empire Packing Company v. Commissioner, 14 T.C. 635 (1950), was a case in which the United States Tax Court ruled that Midland Empire Packing Company was permitted to deduct the costs of lining its basement walls and floor. The costs were held to be repairs, and thus deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense under section 162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

UNICAP is an abbreviation for "Uniform Capitalization," a tax concept governed by United States Internal Revenue Code § 263A.

References

  1. ↑ IRC § 162. Section 212 permits deductions for investment expenses.
  2. ↑ IRC § 262.
  3. 1 2 3 IRC § 263(a).
  4. ↑ For more on this subject, see Donaldson, Samuel A., Federal Income Taxation of Individuals: Cases, Problems and Materials 170-92 (2d ed. 2007).
  5. ↑ Prop. Reg. § 1.263(a)-2(d)(4)(i).
  6. ↑ 418 U.S. 1 (1974).
  7. ↑ This result was codified in IRC § 263A, the uniform capitalization (or UNICAP) rules.
  8. ↑ Prop. Reg. § 1.263(a)-3(f)(1).
  9. ↑ Prop. Reg. § 1.263(a)-3(d)(1).
  10. ↑ 291 F. Supp. 2d 699 (W.D. Tenn. 2003).
  11. ↑ Prop. Reg. § 1.263(a)-3(d)(2)(v) sets forth nine factors to use when determining whether an item should be treated as an individual piece of property or as part of a whole.
  12. ↑ 14 T.C. 635 (1950).
  13. ↑ 25 T.C. 272 (1955).
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