NEW PATENT BOX GUIDELINES PROVIDE CLEARER OUTLINES AND CONFIRMED BENEFITS, SAYS TAX AUTHORITY CIRCULAR

The circular 5/E/2023 from the Tax Authority on the new Patent Box introduced by Decree Law No. 146/2021, and the measure that modifies the previous document of February 15, 2020, provide clearer outlines for the methods of management and use of the benefit. This makes the evaluations of entrepreneurs and professionals more reliable regarding the contribution of the incentive to business management.

It is worth remembering that the new tax incentive regime, which can be applied from the tax period ongoing at October 22, 2021, allows for a directly and independently benefited of a 110% increased tax deduction of expenses incurred for the research and development of certain types of intangible assets – patents, software, designs, and models – used in business activities during the tax period in which one or more of these assets obtain industrial property protection.

With the recapture mechanism, the expenses to be considered for determining the benefit are those incurred in the eight previous tax periods. The option, which must be exercised in the tax return, has a duration of five years and is irrevocable and renewable.

The expected clarification regarding the compatibility with the research and development tax credit, moreover, imposes the need for coordinated management of the two measures. In fact, the Agency clarifies that in calculating this benefit, the tax savings (Ires and Irap) resulting from the 110% super-deduction granted by the Patent Box must be subtracted.

The new regime provides for the preparation of anti-penalty documentation with digital signature and time stamp, for which the corrective measure contains a six-month extension for only the first year of application.