Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Steps Taken During Cost Segregation Depreciation In A Firm

By Freida Michael


Many investors are not aware of how they can lessen their tax burden through this practice. This is done through implementing tax strategies which aim at reducing property owners tax burden. One of the powerful tax strategies to reduce burden today is cost segregation depreciation.

This idea identifies properties fixed in organization buildings or purchasing expenditure that attracts depreciation charge for more than five years to fifteen years rather than the twenty seven years standard limit. These costs are then classified according to their similarities and then depreciated allowing the company to reduce their tax burden.

Since depreciation reduces a firm profit, it then also reduces the taxable amount of a business. The criteria used to apportion total expenditure of project to different assets very important as it helps to achieve accurate expenditure separation study.

This effect is good as it cuts down the amount to be depreciated and a firm ends up paying less. To achieve accurate and reliable expenditure segregation the technique used to distribute total outlay to specific asset is very crucial.

The next stage is verifying the nature of the asset and evaluating its intended purpose. Sometimes it may require the auditor to take photos of the project for reference in the future if need be. Also photos of site previously constructed may be required for verification purposes and to monitor construction progress.

This technique is believed to be accurate and methodical approach to use. This is because it depends on tangible documentations and it does not use estimations. Documents such as specifications, contracts, blueprints, job reports, invoices, payment request and change orders are utilized to evaluate unit charge.

Then apportion expenditure per unit to individual asset previously classified to get their total outlay. In case of any difference between the total definite expenditure and the quantitative charge, the difference is reconciled and the reason for the difference is investigated.

Then share the indirect charges to their correct classes of property. These indirect expenses include permit expenses, architectural fee and engineering charges. Asset with equal useful life are put in one category their depreciation charge calculated. Disadvantage of this method is that it consumes a lot of time. It also requires many skilled personnel to be involved. But it is preferred for its accuracy. The next approach is scrap value estimation method.

The next step is reviewing the asset to verify nature and its desired purpose or use. For reference purposes take photos some specific assets. An auditor can also request photographs of previous sites to verify the progress of construction and the status of asset before the construction began.

Depreciation charge is an allowable expense that cuts down taxable income resulting to increase in cash flow after tax. Firms consider tax periods that are shorter since they bring higher tax benefits. Considering value of money, huge tax deductions within short duration is more advantageous to businesses than smaller tax deductions made for longer periods. Bonus depreciation is also part of benefit that one can get as a result of cost segregation. Bonus depreciation is only applicable to specific properties such as fixed asset with useful life of twenty years and more such asset include machinery and other non current asset.

The approach also fails to reconcile the project actual cost with the quantitative value. It is an unreasonable approach to use since a proper approach will add back residual cost to the total cost of short term asset.




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