To be clear, you will eventually get the taxes you pay back over the next 5 years. But how are bootstrapped companies without access to large capital reserves or investment supposed to come up with the money to pay these tax bills while they wait it out? For every dollar you spend on making software, you've now got to have 30+ cents in reserve just to pay the tax bill for the year!
The tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 in its plain language forces all costs and expenses related to software development to be amortized over 5 years (starting mid-year so 6 in practice)[0].
This act would revert that requirement to the original language permitting a complete deduction of software wages in the year accrued, rather than treating those wages as investment in a capital(ized) asset.
Comments
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act
These people tried to sell our national parks, cut revenue, and increased expenses.
And also this bill changed the rules for R&E Amortization.
From "Ask HN: How are you handling Section 174 changes for bootstrapped companies?" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34627712 :
Q: "Did the 2017 tax cut—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—pay for itself?" (2020) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/did-the-2017-tax-cut-the-...
A: No. The TCJA did not pay for itself.
Background:
The tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 in its plain language forces all costs and expenses related to software development to be amortized over 5 years (starting mid-year so 6 in practice)[0].
This act would revert that requirement to the original language permitting a complete deduction of software wages in the year accrued, rather than treating those wages as investment in a capital(ized) asset.
0: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/174