On December 19th, President Obama signed into law HR 5771, the “Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014” (TIPA). The bill generally provides for a 1-year extension, through 2014, of over 50 expired or expiring individual, business, and energy provisions which exist year after year, although on a temporary basis.

TIPA retroactively extends the research credit for one year to apply to amounts paid or accrued before January 1, 2015.

So, because the extension of the research credit is retroactive to include amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2013, taxpayers, such as fiscal year corporations that already filed returns for fiscal years that ended in 2014, should consider filing an amended return to claim a refund for the amount of any additional tax paid because of not claiming amounts now eligible for the tax credit.

Written by Mike Musson, CPA, Partner