searched for Safe Harbor rule -

[WITAXLADY]

Can goodwill be written off through Safe Harbor? 2nd year  -need to have more expenses!!

I know it cannot be sec 179'd

Thx D

[Lion EA]

15 years, right? https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/intangibles 

[WITAXLADY]

so could a Client List be considered tangible?

 

[WITAXLADY]

if the cost of the  client list can be separated from the goodwill - it could be considered a separate property.

In this case it is a milk truck route and the client list is the list of farms sipping to a specific cheese plant -

So I think a case could be used by #'s of milk per farm could be used to make part of the the $$$ be tangible. ??

And the excess GW?

 

D

[WITAXLADY]

http://archives.cpajournal.com/old/12543355.htm

[jklcpa]

22 minutes ago, WITAXLADY said:

http://archives.cpajournal.com/old/12543355.htm

That's a very old article under old rules before the law changed in mid-1993.

44 minutes ago, WITAXLADY said:

so could a Client List be considered tangible?

 

No, if the customer list cost was part of a business acquisition, then it is an intangible to be amortized over 15 years under sec 197. 

[WITAXLADY]

grrr - $440,000 of Goodwill? Is that an usual amount?

[mcb39]

Sounds like an awful lot.  But, then, I send my farm returns to you.  Shipping of milk is becoming a dying industry in Wisconsin; so I suppose it is possible for one company to have an unusually large route.  Why are we still doing this D?

[DANRVAN]

13 hours ago, WITAXLADY said:

grrr - $440,000 of Goodwill? Is that an usual amount?

Depends on the the purchase price vs fmv of assets purchased. For example,  if the purchase price was $640,000 and fmv of equipment, trucks, etc was $200,000 then Goodwill was properly valued $440,000.