R&D Credit and Section 174

General Description:

This course will review the basic and intermediary levels of claiming the research and development (R&D) credit, including how qualified research is defined, the various details of the ­credit calculations, and properly supporting or documenting such claim. The new §174 capitalization requirements and its impact will be covered. This course will also highlight IRS examination trends and concerns as well as financial statement aspects of claiming the ­credit.

Learning Objective:

After completing this course the participant will be able to:

• Explain the background of the research and development credit and recent legislation.
• Discuss the new §174 capitalization requirements and §280C(c) impact.
• Define qualified research under statutory and case law.
• Distinguish and recognize the issues pertaining to internal-use software.
• Calculate regular and alternative simplified credit, including:
• Base period;
• Start-up company rules;
• Acquisition and disposition application;
• Controlled groups.
• Explain the need for contemporaneous documentation.
• Recognize the role of the Internal Revenue Service, including:
• Issue management network/Tier I;
• Examination trends;
• Pre-filing agreements.
• Describe financial statement benefit issues.

Instructors:

T. Mark Dunning, CPA, is the managing partner of TaxOps Minimization, where he leads an experienced team in implementing tax-saving projects. Previously he was responsible for the coordination, management, and execution of large research credit studies at EY, and he also has worked extensively with small and mid-size companies on their R&D issues. An accomplished negotiator with the IRS and state tax authorities, he managed four of the 23 IRS pre-filing agreement projects granted and closed in the research credit area by the IRS. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University and writes and speaks ­frequently about far-ranging business tax topics involving tax credits, deductions, and deferrals.

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