My current thought is that the Research credit will be extended. It has been extended 13 times already and it should be extended again without any lapse. Both political parties are in favor of it. The past few Presidents ‘of the United States have stated that the Research credit should be made permanent. The Research credit has a lot of support.

Furthermore, the research credit is part of an Extenders package that contains a number of different tax items – many of which would be considered “politically unfavorable” for the members of Congress if it were to not be extended including a number of key personal and business tax breaks that are consistently used annually. The reason the last extenders bill stalled (around Memorial Day) came down to the disagreement on how the Extenders legislation would be paid for – not due to “if” this legislation should be extended.

However, the longer the wait the better chance a lapse in credit could occur. A few years ago, it wasn’t until December 20, that the Extenders Bill was signed into law – almost a full 12 months after the credit had expired – although it extended the credit with no break in benefit.

That is my opinion.

Mark

What's your take on the Research Credit extension?