Your Roadmap to Significant Business Tax Savings
The recently enacted tax law, known as The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, has ushered in a new era of business tax opportunities. For owners and managers of businesses—from tech startups in the Bay Area to manufacturing firms in upstate New York—this legislation offers powerful incentives to invest, grow, and improve cash flow for prior, current, and future tax years.
At TYS, with our two offices in Walnut Creek, California, and Fairport, New York, we are positioned to help clients nationwide understand and leverage these changes. Our goal is to ensure your business doesn’t miss out on these significant tax benefits.
While the new law contains a variety of beneficial provisions, the three most impactful for businesses are:
- Enhanced research and experimental (R&E) expensing
- Permanent 100% bonus depreciation
- Restored EBITDA-based business interest deductions
Let’s take a closer look at these key changes and how your business can benefit.
Enhanced Research and Experimental (R&E) Expensing
One of the most significant reversals from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is the restoration of full expensing for domestic R&E costs. This change means that for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, businesses can once again deduct these costs in the year they are incurred.
For R&E costs that were capitalized and amortized in previous years (2022-2024), the new law offers a path to recovery. You can choose to deduct these remaining unamortized costs in 2025, or over a two-year period in 2025 and 2026. This is a critical planning opportunity, and for smaller businesses with average gross receipts of $31 million or less, there is an additional option to amend prior tax returns for 2022, 2023, and 2024 to deduct these costs. Modeling these various options is essential to determine the most beneficial strategy for your specific financial situation.
It’s important to note that the rules for foreign R&D costs have not changed; they still must be amortized over a 15-year period.
Permanent 100% Bonus Depreciation
The new law brings back 100% bonus depreciation, making it a permanent part of the tax code for qualifying property that is both acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. This allows your business to immediately write off the entire cost of eligible equipment, machinery, and certain building improvements, providing a powerful incentive for capital investment and a significant boost to your cash flow.
This is a major change from the phased-down bonus depreciation of recent years (60% in 2024). By making it permanent, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides businesses with greater certainty for long-term tax planning.
Restored EBITDA-Based Business Interest Deductions
The new law restores the ability for capital-intensive businesses to deduct more of their interest expense. Previously, the deduction for business interest was limited to 30% of adjusted taxable income (ATI) calculated without adding back depreciation and amortization. This change to an “EBITDA-based” calculation allows companies to add back depreciation, amortization, and depletion when calculating the income base, significantly increasing the amount of deductible interest. This is a crucial improvement for businesses with high debt levels, as it reduces taxable income and improves financial flexibility. This provision is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Other Beneficial Depreciation and Deduction Options
In addition to the three main benefits, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also offers other depreciation and expensing opportunities:
- Expanded Section 179 Depreciation: The new law substantially increases the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million annually, with a phase-out threshold that begins at $4 million. This allows businesses to deduct the full cost of qualifying property, such as equipment and software, in the year of purchase.
- New Qualified Production Property (QPP) Deduction: A new provision, Section 168(n), provides a significant incentive for manufacturers and other production-related businesses. It allows for a 100% deduction for certain nonresidential building property used in qualified production activities. This is particularly valuable for new construction projects that begin after January 19, 2025.
- Cost Segregation Studies: With the reinstatement of 100% bonus depreciation and the expansion of other deductions, a cost segregation study has become an even more powerful tool. By identifying and reclassifying building components into shorter depreciation lives, these studies can maximize the tax savings and cash flow benefits from buying or constructing a building.
How TYS Can Help You
Navigating the complexities of a major new tax law requires deep expertise and a forward-thinking approach. The TYS team, with our bi-coastal presence and extensive experience, can help your business capitalize on these unprecedented opportunities.
We can assist with:
- Modeling the most advantageous options for recovering prior R&D expenses.
- Performing cost segregation studies to maximize your real estate-related depreciation deductions.
- Developing a comprehensive tax strategy that leverages these new provisions to optimize your financial position for years to come.
The window to act on some of these benefits is now. We invite you to contact us to explore how these changes can translate into tangible savings for your business.