SECTION 7. DRAFTING

INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue procedure is Douglas H. Kim of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs & Special Industries). For further information regarding this revenue procedure, contact Mr. Kim at (202) 622–3110 (not a toll-free call).

enue procedure, this revenue procedure is effective for a Form 3115 filed for taxable years ending on or after December 26, 2006. .02 Transition rule for previously filed Forms 3115 for automatic consent .

(1) For a taxable year ending on or after December 26, 2006, a taxpayer may make a change in method of accounting previously authorized in section 2.01, 2.02, or 2B of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 in effect on the date on which the Form 3115 was filed with the national office by the taxpayer ( see Rev. Proc. 2004–11) if:

(a) before December 26, 2006, the taxpayer filed a completed Form 3115 with the national office to make that change in method of accounting; and

(b) the taxpayer makes that change in method of accounting in compliance with all the applicable provisions of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 for the requested year of change (as defined in section 5.02 of Rev. Proc. 2002–9) on that Form 3115.

(2) If a taxpayer filed a Form 3115 with the national office to make a change in method of accounting previously authorized in section 2.01, 2.02, or 2B of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 in effect on the date on which the Form 3115 was filed with the national office by the taxpayer for a year of change for which this revenue procedure is effective (see section 6.01 of this revenue procedure) and the taxpayer’s original federal tax return for that year of change was not filed before December 26, 2006, the taxpayer may

make the change in method of accounting authorized under section 2.01, 2.02, or 2B, as applicable, of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 as revised by this revenue procedure. However, the Service will process the Form 3115 in accordance with the section of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 in effect on the date on which the Form 3115 was filed with the national office by the taxpayer unless on or before the due date (including extensions) of the taxpayer’s federal tax return for the requested year of change (as defined in section 5.02 of Rev. Proc. 2002–9) on that Form 3115, the taxpayer completes a new Form 3115 to make the change under section 2.01, 2.02, or 2B, as applicable, of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 as revised by this revenue procedure and files this newly completed Form 3115 in duplicate in accordance with section 6.02(3)(a) of Rev. Proc. 2002–9. Additionally, the newly completed Form 3115 must include the statement: “Section [ insert, as appro- priate: 2.01, 2.02, or 2B ] of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 as revised by Rev. Proc. 2007–16.” This statement must be legibly printed or typed on the appropriate line on, or at the top of page 1 of, the Form 3115.

.03 Application of section 3 . Section 3 of this revenue procedure is effective for a Form 3115 filed on or after December 26, 2006. .04 Changes made to Rev. Proc. 2000–50 . The changes made in section 5.06 of this revenue procedure to section 8.01 of Rev. Proc. 2000–50 are effective

APPENDIX

SECTION 1. Section 2.01 of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc 2002–9 is deleted and replaced with the following:

“.01 Impermissible to permissible method of accounting for depreciation or amortization . (1) Description of change and scope .

(a) Applicability . This change applies to a taxpayer that wants to change from an impermissible to a permissible method of accounting for depreciation or amortization (depreciation) for any item of depreciable or amortizable property:

(i) for which the taxpayer used the impermissible method of accounting in at least the two taxable years immediately preceding the year of change (but see section 2.01(1)(b) of this APPENDIX for property placed in service in the taxable year immediately preceding the year of change);

(ii) for which the taxpayer is making a change in method of accounting under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d ); (iii) for which depreciation is determined under § 56(a)(1), § 56(g)(4)(A), § 167, § 168, § 197, § 1400I, or § 1400L(c), under § 168 prior to its amendment in 1986 (former § 168), or under any additional first year depreciation deduction provision of the Internal Revenue Code (for example, § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d)); and

(iv) that is owned by the taxpayer at the beginning of the year of change (but see section 2.05 of this APPENDIX for property disposed of before the year of change).

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(b) Taxpayer has not adopted a method of accounting for the item of property . If a taxpayer does not satisfy section 2.01(1)(a)(i) of this APPENDIX for an item of depreciable or amortizable property because this item of property is placed in service by the taxpayer in the taxable year immediately preceding the year of change (“1-year depreciable property”), the taxpayer may change from the impermissible method of determining depreciation to the permissible method of determining depreciation for the 1-year depreciable property by filing a Form 3115 for this change, provided the § 481 adjustment reported on the Form 3115 includes the amount of any adjustment that is attributable to all property (including the 1-year depreciable property) subject to the Form 3115. Alternatively, the taxpayer may change from the impermissible method of determining depreciation to the permissible method of determining depreciation for a 1-year depreciable property by filing an amended federal tax return for the property’s placed-in-service year prior to the date the taxpayer files its federal tax return for the taxable year succeeding the placed-in-service year.

(c) Certain scope limitations inapplicable . The scope limitations in sections 4.02(7) and 4.02(8) of this revenue procedure are not applicable to this change.

(d) Inapplicability . This change does not apply to:

(i) any property to which § 1016(a)(3) (regarding property held by a tax-exempt organization) applies; (ii) any taxpayer that is subject to § 263A and that is required to capitalize the costs with respect to which the taxpayer wants to change its method of accounting under section 2.01 of this APPENDIX, if the taxpayer is not capitalizing the costs as required;

(iii) any property for which a taxpayer is making a change in depreciation under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 2 )( vi ) or ( vii ); (iv) any property subject to § 167(g) (regarding property depreciated under the income forecast method); (v) any § 1250 property that a taxpayer is reclassifying to an asset class of Rev. Proc. 87–56, 1987–2 C.B. 674, or Rev. Proc. 83–35, 1983–1 C.B. 745, as appropriate, that does not explicitly include § 1250 property (for example, asset class 57.0, Distributive Trades and Services);

(vi) any property for which a taxpayer is revoking a timely valid election, or making a late election, under § 167, § 168, § 179, § 1400I, § 1400L(c), former § 168, § 13261(g)(2) or (3) of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 (1993 Act), 1993–3 C.B. 1, 128 (relating to amortizable § 197 intangibles), or any additional first year depreciation deduction provision of the Internal Revenue Code (for example, § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d)). A taxpayer may request consent to revoke or make the election by submitting a request for a letter ruling under Rev. Proc. 2006–1, 2006–1 I.R.B. 1 (or any successor). However, if a taxpayer is revoking or making an election under § 179, see §179(c) and § 1.179–5. See § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 3 )( iii );

(vii) any property for which depreciation is determined under § 56(g)(4)(A) or § 167 (other than under § 168, § 1400I, § 1400L(c), former § 168, or any additional first year depreciation deduction provision of the Code (for example, § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d))) and a taxpayer is changing the useful life of the property. A change in the useful life of property is corrected by adjustments in the applicable taxable year provided under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 5 )( iv ). However, this section 2.01(1)(d)(vii) of this APPENDIX does not apply if the taxpayer is changing to or from a useful life, recovery period, or amortization period that is specifically assigned by the Internal Revenue Code (for example, § 167(f)(1), § 168(c)), the regulations thereunder, or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin and, therefore, this change is a change in method of accounting (unless section 2.01(1)(d)(xv) of this APPENDIX applies). See § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 3 )( i );

(viii) any depreciable property for which the use changes in the hands of the same taxpayer. See § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 3 )( ii );

(ix) any property for which depreciation is determined in accordance with § 1.167(a)–11 (regarding the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System (ADR));

(x) any change in method of accounting involving a change from deducting the cost or other basis of any property as an expense to capitalizing and depreciating the cost or other basis, or vice versa ;

(xi) any change in method of accounting involving a change from one permissible method of accounting for the property to another permissible method of accounting for the property. For example:

(A) a change from the straight-line method of depreciation to the income forecast method of depreciating for videocassettes. See Rev. Rul. 89–62, 1989–1 C.B. 78; or

(B) a change from charging the depreciation reserve with costs of removal and crediting the depreciation reserve with salvage proceeds to deducting costs of removal as an expense (provided the costs of removal are not required to be capitalized under any provision of the Code, such as, § 263(a)) and including salvage proceeds in taxable income (see section 2.02 of this APPENDIX for making this change for property for which depreciation is determined under § 167);

(xii) any change in method of accounting involving both a change from treating the cost or other basis of the property as nondepreciable or nonamortizable property to treating the cost or other basis of the property as depreciable or amortizable property and the adoption of a method of accounting for depreciation requiring an election under § 167, § 168, § 1400I, § 1400L(c), former § 168, § 13261(g)(2) or (3) of the 1993 Act, or any additional first year depreciation deduction provision of the Code (for example, a change in the treatment of the space consumed in landfills placed in service in 1990 from nondepreciable to depreciable property (assuming section 2.01(1)(d)(xiii) of the APPENDIX does not apply) and the making of an election under § 168(f)(1) to depreciate this property under the unit of production method of depreciation under § 167);

(xiii) any change in method of accounting for any item of income or deduction other than depreciation, even if the change results in a change in computing depreciation under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 2 )( i ), ( ii ), ( iii ), ( iv ), ( v ), ( vi ), ( vii ), or ( viii ). For example, a change in method of accounting involving:

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(A) a change in inventory costs (for example, when property is reclassified from inventory property to depreciable property, or vice versa ) (but see section 3.02 of this APPENDIX for making a change from inventory property to depreciable property for unrecoverable line pack gas or unrecoverable cushion gas); or

(B) a change in the character of a transaction from sale to lease, or vice versa (but see section 2.03 of this APPENDIX for making this change);

(xiv) a change from determining depreciation under § 168 to determining depreciation under former § 168 for any property subject to the transition rules in § 203(b) or 204(a) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, 1986–3 (Vol. 1) C.B. 1, 60–80;

(xv) any change in the placed-in-service date of a depreciable or amortizable property. This change is corrected by adjustments in the applicable taxable year provided under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 5 )( v ); or

(xvi) any property for which the rehabilitation credit under § 47 was claimed and that a taxpayer is reclassifying to 3-year property, 5-year property, 7-year property, 10-year property, 15-year property, 20-year property, or water utility property (other than real property with a class life of more than 12.5 years).

(2) Additional requirements . A taxpayer also must comply with the following:

(a) Permissible method of accounting for depreciation . A taxpayer must change to a permissible method of accounting for depreciation for the item of depreciable or amortizable property. The permissible method of accounting is the same method that determines the depreciation allowable for the item of property (as provided in section 2.01(5) of this APPENDIX).

(b) Statements required . A taxpayer must provide the following statements, if applicable, and attach them to the completed application:

(i) a detailed description of the former and new methods of accounting. A general description of these methods of accounting is unacceptable (for example, MACRS to MACRS, erroneous method to proper method, claiming less than the depreciation allowable to claiming the depreciation allowable);

(ii) to the extent not provided elsewhere on the application, a statement describing the taxpayer’s business or income-producing activities. Also, if the taxpayer has more than one business or income-producing activity, a statement describing the taxpayer’s business or income-producing activity in which the item of property at issue is primarily used by the taxpayer;

(iii) to the extent not provided elsewhere on the application, a statement of the facts and law supporting the new method of accounting, new classification of the item of property, and new asset class in, as appropriate, Rev. Proc. 87–56 or Rev. Proc. 83–35. If the taxpayer is the owner and lessor of the item of property at issue, the statement of the facts and law supporting the new asset class also must describe the business or income-producing activity in which that item of property is primarily used by the lessee;

(iv) to the extent not provided elsewhere on the application, a statement identifying the year in which the item of property was placed in service;

(v) if any item of property is public utility property within the meaning of § 168(i)(10) or former § 167(l)(3)(A), as applicable, a statement providing that the taxpayer agrees to the following additional terms and conditions:

(A) a normalization method of accounting (within the meaning of former § 167(l)(3)(G), former § 168(e)(3)(B), or § 168(i)(9), as applicable) will be used for the public utility property subject to the application;

(B) as of the beginning of the year of change, the taxpayer will adjust its deferred tax reserve account or similar reserve account in the taxpayer’s regulatory books of account by the amount of the deferral of federal income tax liability associated with the § 481(a) adjustment applicable to the public utility property subject to the application; and

(C) within 30 calendar days of filing the federal income tax return for the year of change, the taxpayer will provide a copy of the completed application to any regulatory body having jurisdiction over the public utility property subject to the application;

(vi) if the taxpayer is changing the classification of an item of § 1250 property placed in service after August 19, 1996, to a retail motor fuels outlet under § 168(e)(3)(E)(iii), a statement containing the following representation: “For purposes of § 168(e)(3)(E)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code, the taxpayer represents that (A) 50 percent or more of the gross revenue generated from the item of § 1250 property is from the sale of petroleum products (not including gross revenue from related services, such as the labor cost of oil changes and gross revenue from the sale of nonpetroleum products such as tires and oil filters), (B) 50 percent or more of the floor space in the item of property is devoted to the sale of petroleum products (not including floor space devoted to related services, such as oil changes and floor space devoted to nonpetroleum products such as tires and oil filters), or (C) the time of § 1250 property is 1,400 square feet or less.”; and

(vii) if the taxpayer is changing the classification of an item of property from § 1250 property to § 1245 property under § 168 or former § 168, a statement of the facts and law supporting the new § 1245 property classification, and a statement containing the following representation: “Each item of depreciable property that is the subject of the application filed under section 2.01 of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 for the year of change beginning [ Insert the date ], and that is reclassified from [ Insert, as appropriate: nonresidential real property, residential rental property, qualified leasehold improvement property, qualified restaurant property, 19-year real property, 18-year real property, or 15-year real property ] to an asset class of [ Insert, as appropriate, either: Rev. Proc. 87–56, 1987–2 C.B. 674, or Rev. Proc. 83–35, 1983–1 C.B. 745 ] that does not explicitly include § 1250 property, is § 1245 property for depreciation purposes.”

(3) Section 481(a) adjustment . Because the adjusted basis of the property is changed as a result of a method change made under section 2.01 of this APPENDIX ( see section 2.01(4) of this APPENDIX), items are duplicated or omitted. Accordingly, this change is made with a § 481(a) adjustment. This adjustment may result in either a negative § 481(a) adjustment (a decrease in taxable income) or

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a positive § 481(a) adjustment (an increase in taxable income) and may be a different amount for regular tax, alternative minimum tax, and adjusted current earnings purposes. This § 481(a) adjustment equals the difference between the total amount of depreciation taken into account in computing taxable income for the property under the taxpayer’s former method of accounting (including the amount attributable to any property described in section 2.01(1)(b) of this APPENDIX that is included in the taxpayer’s Form 3115), and the total amount of depreciation allowable for the property under the taxpayer’s new method of accounting (as determined under section 2.01(5) of this APPENDIX, and including the amount attributable to any property described in section 2.01(1)(b) of this APPENDIX that is included in the taxpayer’s Form 3115), for open and closed years prior to the year of change. However, the amount of the § 481(a) adjustment must be adjusted to account for the proper amount of the depreciation allowable that is required to be capitalized under any provision of the Code (for example, § 263A) at the beginning of the year of change.

(4) Basis adjustment . As of the beginning of the year of change, the basis of depreciable property to which section 2.01 of this APPENDIX applies must reflect the reductions required by § 1016(a)(2) for the depreciation allowable for the property (as determined under section 2.01(5) of this APPENDIX).

(5) Meaning of depreciation allowable .

(a) In general . Section 2.01(5) of this APPENDIX provides the amount of the depreciation allowable determined under § 56(a)(1), § 56(g)(4)(A), § 167, § 168, § 197, § 1400I, or § 1400L(c), or former § 168. This amount, however, may be limited by other provisions of the Code (for example, § 280F).

(b) Section 56(a)(1) property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for property for which depreciation is determined under § 56(a)(1) is determined by using the depreciation method, recovery period, and convention provided for under § 56(a)(1) that applies for the property’s placed-in-service date.

(c) Section 56(g)(4)(A) property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for property for which depreciation is determined under § 56(g)(4)(A) is determined by using the depreciation method, recovery period or useful life, as applicable, and convention provided for under § 56(g)(4)(A) that applies for the property’s placed-in-service date.

(d) Section 167 property . Generally, for any taxable year, the depreciation allowable for property for which depreciation is determined under § 167, is determined either:

(i) under the depreciation method adopted by a taxpayer for the property; or (ii) if that depreciation method does not result in a reasonable allowance for depreciation or a taxpayer has not adopted a depreciation method for the property, under the straight-line depreciation method.

For determining the estimated useful life and salvage value of the property, see § 1.167(a)–1(b) and (c), respectively. The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for property subject to § 167(f) (regarding certain property excluded from § 197) is determined by using the depreciation method and useful life prescribed in § 167(f). If computer software is depreciated under § 167(f)(1) and is qualified property (as defined in § 168(k)(2) and § 1.168(k)–1 of the Income Tax Regulations), 50-percent bonus depreciation property (as defined in § 168(k)(4) and § 1.168(k)–1), qualified New York Liberty Zone (Liberty Zone) property (as defined in § 1400L(b)(2) and § 1.1400L(b)–1), or qualified Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) property (as defined in sections 2.02 and 2.03 of Notice 2006–77, 2006–40 I.R.B. 590), the depreciation allowable for that computer software under § 167(f)(1) is also determined by taking into account the additional first year depreciation deduction provided by § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d), as applicable, unless the taxpayer made a timely valid election not to deduct any additional first year depreciation for the computer software.

(e) Section 168 property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for property for which depreciation is determined under § 168, is determined as follows:

(i) by using either: (A) the general depreciation system in § 168(a); or (B) the alternative depreciation system in § 168(g) if the property is required to be depreciated under the alternative depreciation system pursuant to § 168(g)(1) or other provisions of the Code (for example, property described in § 263A(e)(2)(A) or § 280F(b)(1)). Property required to be depreciated under the alternative depreciation system pursuant to § 168(g)(1) includes property in a class (as set out in § 168(e)) for which the taxpayer made a timely valid election under § 168(g)(7); and

(ii) if the property is qualified property, 50-percent bonus depreciation property, Liberty Zone property, or GO Zone property, by taking into account the additional first year depreciation deduction provided by § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d), as applicable, unless the taxpayer made a timely valid election not to deduct the additional first year depreciation (or made a deemed election not to deduct the additional first year depreciation; for further guidance, see Rev. Proc. 2002–33, 2002–1 C.B. 963, Rev. Proc. 2003–50, 2003–2 C.B. 119, or Notice 2006–77) for the class of property (as defined in § 1.168(k)–1(e)(2), § 1.1400L(b)–1(e)(2), or section 4.02 of Notice 2006–77, as applicable) in which that property is included.

(f) Section 197 property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for an amortizable § 197 intangible (including any property for which a timely election under § 13261(g)(2) of the 1993 Act was made) is determined in accordance with § 1.197–2(f).

(g) Former § 168 property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for property subject to former § 168 is determined by using either:

(i) the accelerated method of cost recovery applicable to the property (for example, for 5-year property, the recovery method under former § 168(b)(1)); or

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(ii) the straight-line method applicable to the property if the property is required to be depreciated under the straight-line method (for example, property described in former § 168(f)(12) or former § 280F(b)(2)) or if the taxpayer elected to determine the depreciation allowance under the optional straight-line percentage (for example, the straight-line method in former § 168(b)(3)).

(h) Qualified revitalization building . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for any qualified revitalization building (as defined in § 1400I(b)(1)) for which the taxpayer has made a timely valid election under § 1400I(a) is determined as follows:

(i) if the taxpayer elected to deduct one-half of any qualified revitalization expenditures (as defined in § 1400I(b)(2)) chargeable to a capital account with respect to the qualified revitalization building for the taxable year in which the building is placed in service by the taxpayer, the depreciation allowable for the property’s placed-in-service year is equal to one-half of the qualified revitalization expenditures for the property and the depreciation allowable for the remaining recovery period of the property is determined using the general depreciation system of § 168(a) or the alternative depreciation system of § 168(g), as applicable; or

(ii) if the taxpayer elected to amortize all of the qualified revitalization expenditures chargeable to a capital account with respect to the qualified revitalization building ratably over the 120-month period beginning with the month in which the building is placed in service, the depreciation allowable is determined in accordance with this election.

(i) Qualified New York Liberty Zone leasehold improvement property . The depreciation allowable for any taxable year for qualified New York Liberty Zone leasehold improvement property (as defined in § 1400L(c)(2)) is determined by using the depreciation method and recovery period prescribed in § 1400L(c) unless the taxpayer made a timely valid election under § 1400L(c) not to use that recovery period.”

SECTION 2. Section 2.02 of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 is deleted and replaced with the following:

“.02 Permissible to permissible method of accounting for depreciation . (1) Description of change . This change applies to a taxpayer that wants to change from a permissible method of accounting for depreciation under § 56(g)(4)(A)(iv) or § 167 to another permissible method of accounting for depreciation under § 56(g)(4)(A)(iv) or § 167. Pursuant to § 1.167(a)–7(a) and (c), a taxpayer may account for depreciable property either by treating each individual asset as an account or by combining two or more assets in a single account and, for each account, depreciation allowances are computed separately.

(2) Scope .

(a) Applicability . This change applies to any taxpayer wanting to make a change in method of accounting for depreciation specified in section 2.02(3) of this APPENDIX for the property in an account:

(i) for which the present and proposed methods of accounting for depreciation specified in section 2.02(3) of this APPENDIX are permissible methods for the property under § 56(g)(4)(A)(iv) or § 167; and

(ii) that is owned by the taxpayer at the beginning of the year of change. (b) Certain scope limitations inapplicable . The scope limitations in sections 4.02(7) and 4.02(8) of this revenue procedure are not applicable to this change.

(c) Inapplicability . This change does not apply to:

(i) any taxpayer that is subject to § 263A and that is required to capitalize the costs with respect to which the taxpayer wants to change its method of accounting under section 2.02 of this APPENDIX, if the taxpayer is not capitalizing the costs as required;

(ii) any property to which § 1016(a)(3) (regarding property held by a tax-exempt organization) applies; (iii) any property described in § 167(f) (regarding certain property excluded from § 197); (iv) any property subject to § 167(g) (regarding property depreciated under the income forecast method); (v) any property for which depreciation is determined under § 56(a)(1), § 56(g)(4)(A)(i), (ii), (iii), or (v), § 168, § 1400I, § 1400L(c), § 168 prior to its amendment in 1986 (former § 168), or any additional first year depreciation deduction provision of the Internal Revenue Code (for example, § 168(k), § 1400L(b), or § 1400N(d));

(vi) any property that the taxpayer elected under § 168(f)(1) or former § 168(e)(2) to exclude from the application of, respectively, § 168 or former § 168;

(vii) any property for which depreciation is determined in accordance with § 1.167(a)–11 (regarding the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System (ADR));

(viii) any depreciable property for which the taxpayer is changing the depreciation method pursuant to § 1.167(e)–1(b) of the Income Tax Regulations (change from declining-balance method to straight-line method), § 1.167(e)–1(c) (certain changes for § 1245 property), or § 1.167(e)–1(d) (certain changes for § 1250 property). These changes must be made prospectively and are not permitted under the cited regulations for property for which the depreciation is determined under § 168, § 1400I, § 1400L, or former § 168; or

(ix) any distributor commissions (as defined by section 2 of Rev. Proc. 2000–38, 2000–2 C.B. 310) for which the taxpayer is changing the useful life under the distribution fee period method or the useful life method (both described in Rev. Proc. 2000–38). A change in this useful life is corrected by adjustments in the applicable taxable year provided under § 1.446–1(e)(2)(ii)( d )( 5 )( iv ).

(3) Changes covered . Section 2.02 of this APPENDIX only applies to the following changes in methods of accounting for depreciation:

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(a) a change from the straight-line method to the sum-of-the-years-digits method, the sinking fund method, the unit-of-production method, or the declining-balance method using any proper percentage of the straight-line rate;

(b) a change from the declining-balance method using any percentage of the straight-line rate to the sum-of-the-years-digits method, the sinking fund method, or the declining-balance method using a different proper percentage of the straight-line rate;

(c) a change from the sum-of-the-years-digits method to the sinking fund method, the declining-balance method using any proper percentage of the straight-line rate, or the straight-line method;

(d) a change from the unit-of-production method to the straight-line method; (e) a change from the sinking fund method to the straight-line method, the unit-of-production method, the sum-of-the-yearsdigits method, or the declining-balance method using any proper percentage of the straight-line rate;

(f) a change in the interest factor used in connection with a compound interest method or sinking fund method; (g) a change in averaging convention as set forth in § 1.167(a)–10(b). However, as specifically provided in § 1.167(a)–10(b), in any taxable year in which an averaging convention substantially distorts the depreciation allowance for the taxable year, it may not be used ( see Rev. Rul. 73–202, 1973–1 C.B. 81);

(h) a change from charging the depreciation reserve with costs of removal and crediting the depreciation reserve with salvage proceeds to deducting costs of removal as an expense and including salvage proceeds in taxable income as set forth in § 1.167(a)–8(e)(2). See Rev. Rul. 74–455, 1974–2 C.B. 63. This change, however, may be made under this revenue procedure only if:

(i) the change is applied to all items in the account for which the change is being made; and (ii) the removal costs are not required to be capitalized under any provision of the Code (for example, § 263(a), 263A, or 280B); (i) a change from crediting the depreciation reserve with the salvage proceeds realized on normal retirement sales to computing and recognizing gains and losses on the sales ( see Rev. Rul. 70–165, 1970–1 C.B. 43);

(j) a change from crediting ordinary income (including the combination method of crediting the lesser of estimated salvage value or actual salvage proceeds to the depreciation reserve, with any excess of salvage proceeds over estimated salvage value credited to ordinary income) with the salvage proceeds realized on normal retirement sales, to computing and recognizing gains and losses on the sales ( see Rev. Rul. 70–166, 1970–1 C.B. 44);

(k) a change from item accounting for specific assets to multiple asset accounting (pooling) for the same assets, or vice versa ; (l) a change from one type of multiple asset accounting (pooling) for specific assets to a different type of multiple asset accounting (pooling) for the same assets;

(m) a change from one method described in Rev. Proc. 2000–38 for amortizing distributor commissions (as defined by section 2 of Rev. Proc. 2000–38, 2000–2 C.B. 310) to another method described in Rev. Proc. 2000–38 for amortizing distributor commissions; or

(n) a change from pooling to a single asset, or vice versa, for distributor commissions (as defined by section 2 of Rev. Proc. 2000–38, 2000–2 C.B. 310) for which the taxpayer is using the distribution fee period method or the useful life method (both described in Rev. Proc. 2000–38).

(4) Additional requirements . A taxpayer also must comply with the following:

(a) Basis for depreciation . At the beginning of the year of change, the basis for depreciation of property to which this change applies is the adjusted basis of the property as provided in § 1011 at the end of the taxable year immediately preceding the year of change (determined under the taxpayer’s present method of accounting for depreciation). If applicable under the taxpayer’s proposed method of accounting for depreciation, this adjusted basis is reduced by the estimated salvage value of the property (for example, a change to the straight-line method).

(b) Rate of depreciation . The rate of depreciation for property changed to:

(i) the straight-line or the sum-of-the-years-digits method of depreciation must be based on the remaining useful life of the property as of the beginning of the year of change; or

(ii) the declining-balance method of depreciation must be based on the useful life of the property measured from the placed-in-service date, and not the expected remaining life from the date the change becomes effective.

(c) Regulatory requirements . For changes in method of depreciation to the sum-of-the-years-digits or declining-balance method, the property must meet the requirements of § 1.167(b)–0 or 1.167(c)–1, as appropriate.

(d) Public utility property . If any item of property is public utility property within the meaning of former § 167(l)(3)(A), the taxpayer must attach to the application a statement providing that the taxpayer agrees to the following additional terms and conditions:

(i) a normalization method of accounting within the meaning of former § 167(l)(3)(G) will be used for the public utility property subject to the application; and

(ii) within 30 calendar days of filing the federal income tax return for the year of change, the taxpayer will provide a copy of the completed application to any regulatory body having jurisdiction over the public utility property subject to the application.

(5) Section 481(a) adjustment . Because the adjusted basis of the property is not changed as a result of a method change made under section 2.02 of this APPENDIX, no items are being duplicated or omitted. Accordingly, no § 481(a) adjustment is required or necessary.”

2007–4 I.R.B. 366 January 22, 2007

SECTION 3. Section 2B of the APPENDIX of Rev. Proc. 2002–9 is deleted and replaced with the following:

“SECTION 2B. COMPUTER SOFTWARE EXPENDITURES (§§ 162, 167, AND 197) .01 Description of change . This change applies to a taxpayer that wants to change its method of accounting for the costs of computer software to a method described in Rev. Proc. 2000–50, 2000–2 C.B. 601, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2007–16, 2007–4 I.R.B. 358. Section 5 of Rev. Proc. 2000–50 describes the methods applicable to the costs of developing computer software. Section 6 of Rev. Proc. 2000–50 describes the method applicable to the costs of acquired computer software. Section 7 of Rev. Proc. 2000–50 describes the method applicable to leased or licensed computer software. If a taxpayer treats the costs of computer software in accordance with the applicable method described in Rev. Proc. 2000–50, the Service will not disturb the taxpayer’s treatment of its costs of computer software.

.02 Scope . This change applies to all costs of computer software as defined in section 2 of Rev. Proc. 2000–50. However, this change does not apply to any computer software that is subject to amortization as an “amortizable section 197 intangible” as defined in § 197(c) and the regulations thereunder, or to costs that a taxpayer has treated as research and experimentation expenditures under § 174.

.03 Statement required . If a taxpayer is changing to the method described in section 5.01(2) of Rev. Proc. 2000–50, the taxpayer must attach to the application a statement providing the information required in section 8.02(2) of Rev. Proc. 2000–50.