Fixed assets update

Immediate tax depreciation for digital assets for hardware and software under tax law

• Concept and scope of acquisition and production costs.
• Determination of useful life in commercial and tax law.
• Requirements for the application of immediate expenses in tax law.
• Application period.
• Can it also be applied to ERP software and supplementary software modules?
• Prerequisites for the application of immediate amortization for intangible and tangible assets (fixed assets) in the commercial balance sheet.

The GWG option for tax purposes with the current values for immediate GWG depreciation and the GWG compound item

• Immediate depreciation under commercial law for low-value assets and business assets.
• Useful life of intangible assets (e.g. software) and intangible assets (e.g. software) in commercial and tax law.
• Concept of trivial software.
• Full expensing (recognition) of digital tangible assets under tax law.

New regulation of declining balance depreciation and special depreciation for electric cars in tax law (reintroduction and initial introduction in 2025) and possible application in the commercial balance sheet

• Application requirements.
• Application period.
• Amount of geometric declining balance depreciation for tax purposes (calculation of depreciation percentage - 30%).
• Amount of the special tax depreciation for electric cars in the year of purchase (in the first year) up to 75% of the acquisition costs. 
• Start and end of depreciation, taking into account any residual carrying amount.
• Depreciation in the year of acquisition and in subsequent years.
• Treatment of subsequent acquisition/production costs or reductions in acquisition costs in subsequent years with declining balance depreciation.
• Changeover to straight-line depreciation and optimum timing of the depreciation change.
• Application of geometric declining balance depreciation in the commercial balance sheet.
• Special depreciation and declining balance depreciation for buildings. 

Cloud computing and IT outsourcing

• Differentiation between purchased software, rental software and cloud-based software solutions (e.g. Saas, Paas, IaaS).
• Posting.
• Commercial law and tax accounting effects.
• AI - research expenses vs. development expenses in the commercial and tax balance sheet (treatment of expenses in connection with artificial intelligence).

News on land and operating facilities

• Separation of real estate from operating equipment.
• Treatment of construction preparation costs in the commercial balance sheet.
• Maintenance expenses vs. acquisition/production costs (current IDW statement(s) including the Climate Neutrality Act).