Blog
Research credit Internal Revenue Service
Request a demo to learn how Bloomberg Tax helps tax professionals in the technology industry plan today for the realities of tomorrow. The tax treatment of R&D expenditures is an important part of corporate tax planning strategies that help companies to innovate and remain competitive in the marketplace. 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for tax policy, with significant changes on the horizon that could complicate federal tax planning strategies.
Bloomberg Tax and R&D
These efforts, though, have been met with pushback as companies scale back these initiatives. One way AI companies are dealing with potential racial and gender biases in their models is by improving how models are trained. Bias in decisions made by AI is also a concern for experts and the public (55% each say they’re highly concerned). Continuing the theme on jobs, we find the public more anxious than experts about job loss (56% vs. 25% are extremely or very concerned).
U.S. business R&D expenditures, by type of R&D: 1970–2022
In Europe, the United States, and Japan the unified concept of research and development has been an integral part of economic planning, both by government and by private industry. Research and development, in industry, two intimately related processes by which new products and new forms of old products are brought into being through technological innovation. R&D also helps minimize product development errors since all choices are data-driven. Samsung Research leads the development of the future technologies for Samsung’s products and services with more than 10,000 researchers and developers working in overseas R&D centers. 18Estimates from the NCSES business and nonprofit organization R&D surveys mentioned are all derived from sample data and thereby contain sampling error. 15Estimates of the type of R&D by source of funding are based on survey responses for federal funding by type of R&D and modeled using nonfederal funding sources of total R&D and the total nonfederally funded R&D by type.
- WhatsApp is used by a larger share of Hispanic and Black teens than White teens.
- Sometimes, a company benefits more by capitalizing R&D expenses instead of deducting them.
- Black teens are more likely than their White or Hispanic peers to use Instagram, TikTok, X, Snapchat and YouTube.
The shares of U.S. adults who say they’re unsure range from 13% to 26%, depending on the job. Fewer than half of U.S. adults and experts alike say there will be job loss in each of these areas, though. On the other hand, while 62% of experts expect fewer jobs for truck drivers, this drops to 33% among the public. About three-quarters of U.S. adults and AI experts alike say that over the next 20 years, AI will lead to fewer jobs of this kind in the U.S. In our current survey, 64% of the public thinks AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years. We did not receive enough responses from Hispanic or Black experts to be able to report expert views by race and ethnicity; this reflects the racial and ethnic makeup of the field.
- For its part, nanotechnology R&D accounted for 5% of total U.S. business R&D.
- As you can tell from the table below, the pharmaceutical industry takes research and development very seriously (5).
- The matching principle requires that companies match their expenses with the related revenues, and incurred costs help achieve this matching.
- Connect to learn more about the products and services offered by Bloomberg Tax.Request a Demo
- Some 14% of teens in households with incomes of less than $75,000 report using it.
- Black and Hispanic teens are more likely than their White peers to say they use Gemini and Meta AI.
Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
In addition, in open-ended responses, survey respondents describe in their own words what they see as AI risks and benefits to society. The survey, conducted among 5,023 U.S. adults from June 9 to 15, 2025, also updates our trends on Americans’ AI awareness and attitudes. Notably, sizable shares of U.S. adults are uncertain about these questions.
IRS Keeps Focus on R&D Tax Credit Even as Agency Staff Shrinks
As we have identified, R&D costs should rightly be identified as investments. In 2023, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, spent over US$45.4 billion on R&D. However, some companies hire outside researchers to conduct this work. Companies are constantly researching new ways to improve their product line or develop new products that consumers will buy. The purpose of investing in R&D is to increase the company’s long-term profits.
U.S. business R&D performed, by industry and select technology focus: 2021
Social media is not only a daily feature in the lives of teens, some report using these platforms “almost constantly.” About one-in-five teens say this of TikTok and YouTube. Overall, teen daily use of these platforms remains relatively stable from past years. YouTube is not only widely used, but it’s also the platform the most teens visit on a daily basis. However, this drops to 27% among teens in households earning $75,000 or more.
Across industries, research and development randd close to 90% of U.S. business R&D is funded by the performing company. The 2010–16 data come from the Business R&D and Innovation Survey and do not include companies with fewer than five domestic employees. Statistics are representative of companies located in the United States that performed or funded R&D.
Our previous surveys of U.S. adults have shown that women are often more wary than men about AI. And those in both groups worry more that government regulation of AI will be too lax than overly excessive. Only about one-in-ten U.S. adults and experts think AI will have a positive impact on elections.
Research and development (R&D) vs. product development
R&D to GDP is attributable to increased business funding of R&D is clear. The gross domestic product data used reflect the U.S. The « other » category includes the R&D funded by all other sources—mainly, by higher education, nonfederal government, and nonprofit organizations.
This product is already registered. Quick and easy product registration. Scan the QR code on your products for easy registration. Quick and easy product registration..Receive up-to-date personalized services and tips. In particular, it is expanding its research scope to new promising fields to realize a new lifestyle based on AI technologies.The hub is working in collaboration with 14 overseas R&D centers in 12 countries worldwide and 7 global AI centers to secure innovative technologies and enhance its global R&D capacity. Samsung Research is the advanced research and development (R&D) hub of Samsung’s Consumer Electronics (CE) Division and IT & Mobile Communications (IM) Division.
So, when Nokia spent an additional R&D euro on a single product, it was only benefiting a subset of its overall handset opportunity, and not all its other handset product markets. Nokia, by contrast, represents an alternative business model. Arguably, Apple’s ability to apply fairly concentrated R&D to a broad spectrum of markets is what lay behind the company’s very high return on research capital. It’s pretty clear that in 2009, Apple’s RORC massively outperformed Nokia’s for the same period. For each company, we will calculate RORC based on fiscal 2009 gross profit returns from fiscal 2008 R&D expenditures. So, last year’s R&D expenditure turns into this year’s new technology products, producing this year’s profits.
And Facebook, once the go-to platform for teens, is used today by about three-in-ten teens. Today, roughly a quarter of teens say they use WhatsApp, up from 17% in 2022. Today’s online landscape for teens is marked by both stability and new trends. Young people turn to a variety of platforms, but YouTube stands out for being used by nearly all teens. Now, AI chatbots, like ChatGPT and Character.ai, are getting teens’ attention.
While the number of specialized IRS examiners may shrink, deep expertise in areas like the R&D credit and transfer pricing remains essential for the agency. The IRS is likely to scrutinize these claims, especially for large and public companies. The alternate dispute resolution programs have numerous benefits, including faster resolution and lower costs. Significant staff losses, particularly within the Large Business & International division, generally have created a bottleneck in the appeals process, leading to delayed case assignments and slower resolutions. For example, a modern software development life cycle often involves short sprints—typically two to four weeks—that include design, coding, and testing. That includes traceability between research initiatives and the research expenses claimed, and technical documentation to substantiate the testimony of researchers.
Business
This is a classic example of how R&D benefits a company’s long-term profitability. Some companies spend so significantly on R&D, however, that they stand out from the rest. A lot of R&D goes into creating these products and marketing them to consumers. Unilever is the parent company of Axe, while P&G is the parent company of Old Spice. The three types of R&D are basic research, applied research, and experimental development. Companies invest in R&D to innovate, develop new products, improve existing ones, and remain competitive.
Working with outside experts can bring fresh ideas and speed up innovation. It allows businesses to grow, adapt, and stay ahead of competitors. It helps companies solve problems and find better ways to work. In general, R&D expenses are considered operating expenses and are recorded on the income statement.