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OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

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Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#251

Post by llm_nerd »

ttul wrote: post #84

Meanwhile, in Canada, not only can you expense R&D, but there is a cashable tax refund that will give you back about 60% of your developers’ salaries…

It's 35% of eligible spend on up to $3 million, and 15% above that (15% and 15% if the corporation is not Canadian). Further, most software development simply doesn't qualify-

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/scientific-...

If you're making websites or doing Shopify integrations, etc, that doesn't actually qualify.

Something truly novel in AI or self driving or whatever -- sure.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#252

Post by CalRobert »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #245
CalRobert wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the heady days of 2022 but six figures shouldn't be impossible for someone with 10+ years of experience. But the trick is to (mostly) ignore the European companies and go for the American ones operating in Europe. Switzerland, Norway, and Ireland can be decent too. I'm still stunned when I see what devs are paid in Germany and southern Europe though.

>I'm still stunned when I see what devs are paid in Germany and southern Europe though. Are German wages really low? I thought Germany as the richest country in Europe.

They seem much lower than, say, Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, etc. Eastern and southern Europe are low but also lower cost of living. A fraction of the US regardless.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#253

Post by llm_nerd »

sMarsIntruder wrote: post #118
ttul wrote: post #84

Meanwhile, in Canada, not only can you expense R&D, but there is a cashable tax refund that will give you back about 60% of your developers’ salaries…

I hate to see this, but you’re comparing two completely different systems. Like it or not, but Canada is much more “socialist”, you can’t expect it in any case to be like US or viceversa.

Canada is much more socialist, in your take, so it has more programs for corporations and private enterprise? Huh? This is nonsensical.

Further, it's incredibly difficult to quantify countries on this purported socialism scale. Sure, Canada has universal healthcare like every single developed country but the US, but otherwise it's much more of a mixed bag. The US has always been vastly more "socialist" than its advocates think -- the military is a colossal make work project and is straight out of Soviet doctrine for central planning -- and of course the entire agricultural industry exists under a massive subsidization regime, but under the current administration....whoa.... There is no Western country that has a central planned economy, with a president that is taking direct control of corporations (US Steel) and demanding ownership of corporations (TikTok), while enlisting private executives as members of the military exactly like China (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/25/meta-exec...), all while saying the entire economy is a "store" that he has sole control over. Absolutely no one in the US, looking very Stalinesque ala the late 1930s, should be throwing stones about socialism.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#254

Post by greenchair »

cheema33 wrote: post #147
root_axis wrote: post #109

I believe the impact of Section 174 has been vastly overstated, sadly we will soon observe this to be the case.

Nobody at my work knew anything about it. And we do have software engineers. I suspect only the very large orgs with expensive accountants were complying. And pay now vs later thing didn't really matter that much to them anyway.

yep it is definitely a big deal for f500. lots of creative accounting techniques had to be used in the meantime.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#255

Post by kasey_junk »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #132
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ive been coding 5+ hours a day almost every day for 15 years. i think ai will replace 70% of SWE in the near future. not employement, but 70% of the current work done by engineers

I don’t even spend 70% of my time coding. I suspect that’s common and looking at data it’s more like 25% on average. So even if it replaces 100% of coding (unlikely) that’s the extent of the gain.

Some of my biggest productivity gains with llms come from areas that aren’t coding. Research, summation, communication and operational issues have all seen pretty dramatic improvements for me when adding llms.

I don’t think ai will replace the career of software development but I do think the tools we will be using to to it will be dramatically different.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#256

Post by xlii »

PeterStuer wrote: post #186
xlii wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have approx. 15 years of experience working remotely for various companies all across the globe and was always an advocate of thesis that remote work is difficult and most people aren’t cut for it and (to horror of many proponents) and on average are less efficient than on-site hires. There are many reasons: It’s difficult to understand _intention_ when deprived of non-verbal communication and working in a choppy n…

From experience I think your 10% feels overly pessimistic. 30-40% feels more accurate, just like only about the same % that can survive an open plan or cubicle floor. I see lots of people thriving in remote. Main reasons being a huge increase in quality of life. Regaining 2-3 hours of senseless commuting time per day, getting small household chores done over lunch, not having to schedule repair and maintainance appoi…

I can’t disclose details but I’ve been doing mentoring, screening and interviewing + screening for years and saw remote communities grow from 10s to 1000s.

What you’re saying is true especially in the honeymoon phase, but the running joke is that you don’t really live remote life unless solitude made you name a pigeon. I’ve seen careers of many of my peers and usually 5 years in people starts to seek on-site.

There’s another point to take into consideration though. In Europe commute is usually less than hour and for many morning routine is an opening to watch movies/read books/listen to music or podcasts. Some travel with friends so that’s a social occasion too. Given accounts of my US colleagues where it’s usually lone drive back and forth experience is different.

Yet remote means omitting or social events and being outsider in the most-social environment (especially for men). Even hybrid with one day is much better than completely remote.

What I found over the years is that no one can say what differentiates remote-able to non-remote. Quiet back-seat engineer can get depressed after year of remote and that guy who is always heart of the party can thrive in remote. It’s just… it wears people down quickly and problems are usually creeping. Back pains coming from tension. Working hours slowly inflating to compensate for extra 10 minutes spent on lunch, this one time when you are bored at 8pm because you are bored in front of computer so why not help someone.

Maybe I’m biased but I find situation that some people are remote and some aren’t to be a healthy one. This preserves local jobs while also making an opening for those who want to do remote work for any reason whatsoever. And this honeymoon period is good to check out if you’re fit for remote or not (and gives enough churn to provide opportunity to try).

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#257

Post by xlii »

CalRobert wrote: post #214
xlii wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have approx. 15 years of experience working remotely for various companies all across the globe and was always an advocate of thesis that remote work is difficult and most people aren’t cut for it and (to horror of many proponents) and on average are less efficient than on-site hires. There are many reasons: It’s difficult to understand _intention_ when deprived of non-verbal communication and working in a choppy n…

A lot of companies just suck at it too. "Here's Slack, figure it out" seems to be a common approach. In person you can pester the person next to you when you're new, overhear conversations, etc. but remote it is MUCH harder to ascertain the culture, Slack etiquette, etc (my favourite was "people write in Slack all the time, in public, even to themselves, it's your job to mute Slack when you need focus, and don't use…

I agree.

Rarely companies want to hire communication expert to help shape good practices even though they’re spending hundreds of thousands if not millions on stuff like Datadog etc.

I have this theory that mailing lists with rich search (slash Google Groups slash Newsgroups) are the best communication tools.

Hadn’t had opportunity to try it out though, as it was shunned „old tech”.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#259

Post by eric-burel »

forty wrote: post #201
eric-burel wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hackernews, not Elon Musk's X or the French parliament, please bring sources and precise details.

It's quite common knowledge :) if you want journalist material, I think there was a Cash Investigation on the topic a few years ago. I have discussed this topic with many other engineers (known from engineering school, from working 13+ years in the Paris tech startup ecosystem and from my worker union, whose scope include most tech companies) and I have never heard any of them saying they did not write bullshit CIR r…

My experience is different, so far I've defended R&D that I believed to be eligible to tax credits, in order for companies to be competitive with other countries that also subsidize R&D and innovation, namely USA and Canada. You can't generalize a 7 billion tax cut system based on one journalist work (the same and the same is quoted again...), opinions based on a few rotten fruits in the basket, and an anti-startup trend that amplifies this hatred for political and ideological reasons.

Re: OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

#260

Post by FartinMowler »

bsenftner wrote: post #241
throwaway2037 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Offshoring as a tactic emerged in the pandemic when companies realised that being “remote” works just as well. I am confused by this comment. Offshoring IT work to India has been going on since the early 2000s. The established model at many non tech companies is a few people onshore talking with biz stakeholders, then directing offshore staff.

Since I 90's, I remember it.

Yup, lots of Y2K work shipped offshore in the 90s while onshore worked on the web boom. After Jan 1, 2000, mgmt thought, hey, how can I use these cheap guys elsewhere.
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