Tax 101: Taxation of Intellectual Property – The Basics

Volume 4 No 5    |    Read Article

By Stanley C. Ruchelman and Elizabeth V. Zanet (alumna)

This month, Tax 101 presents an overview of the basic U.S. Federal tax considerations of transactions that occur over the life cycle of intellectual property (“I.P.”) – from its creation to its acquisition, exploitation, and ultimate sale in a liquidity event. The article address several important questions: Should expenditures be capitalized or deducted? If capitalized, over what period is the expenditure amortized? How are acquisitions of I.P. reported to the I.R.S. when an entire business is acquired? What is the character of gain on sale? When is a sale treated as a license? And when is a license treated as a sale? Elizabeth V. Zanet and Stanley C. Ruchelman explain.    See more →