What, Exactly, Is a Capital Expenditure?
The most common type of capital expenditure occurs when you
purchase or otherwise acquire any asset that will benefit your business
for more than one year. New equipment, a car, computer, office furniture,
or even business real estate are the things that most commonly come
to mind when you hear the words "capital
asset."
Expenses that add to the value or useful life
of an item of property also are considered capital expenditures.
If you have a capital expenditure that pertains to a particular asset
in some year after the asset is purchased, you must treat the expenditure
as a separate asset and depreciate it under the rules applicable to
that type of asset in the year you place the expenditure into service.
In
contrast, an expense that keeps an asset in an ordinarily efficient
operating condition and that does not add to its value or substantially
prolong its useful life is generally considered a currently deductible
repair or maintenance expense.
Deciding whether a particular
item should be classified as a capital expenditure or as a currently
deductible expense is not always easy, particularly if it's debatable
whether the expense represents a repair, or an improvement to a capital
asset.
Recently, the IRS provided guidance that attempts to
clarify the “tangible property” rules. However, this continues
to be a complex area of taxation. There are many rules, definitions,
de minimus safe harbors, and exceptions. In some cases, you need to
make the appropriate elections. Consult your tax advisor to determine
what costs are currently deductible and what should be capitalized
and depreciated over time.
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Tip Some special rules. In
some cases, the tax laws depart from the general deduct-or-capitalize
analysis by providing specific rules that govern how you may or must
treat certain expenditures. For small business owners, the
most commonly applied of these rules are:
- an expensing election that allows
you to deduct, rather than to capitalize, a specified amount of your
costs in acquiring certain business equipment
- amortization of startup costs, including
those associated with organizing a corporation or a partnership
- an election to capitalize, rather than deduct, taxes and interest
you pay to carry or develop real property or to carry, transport,
or install personal property
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