Accounting for construction contracts: IRS targets large land developers

When using the CCM, income and expenses are not “official” until the project finishes. Companies can bill as the project progresses, but nothing is recorded on the income statement until the end. CCM has tax benefits for contractors because they can defer taxable revenue on incomplete projects. General and sub-contractors face accounting challenges unique to their industry.

Here you report income according to the percentage of the contract completed during the year. This percentage is calculated by comparing expenses allocated to the contract and incurred during the year with the estimated total contract costs. From an optics perspective, this can make a company’s revenue and profitability appear inconsistent to outside investors. For example, if a company needs to apply for credit from a bank, it may be challenging to prove how much revenue the company generates using the completed contract method. The completed contract method allows all revenue and expense recognition to be deferred until the completion of a contract. CCM accounting is helpful when there is unpredictability surrounding when the company will be paid by their customer and uncertainty regarding the project’s completion date.

How to Protect Your Payments When Dealing with a Construction Bankruptcy

The IRS initiative targeting large land developers is part of a series of “compliance campaigns” launched in January 2017 that focus on easy ways to boost tax revenue. The campaigns include the development of dedicated practice units and specialized staff training, the release of new guidance, and the use of so-called “soft letters” and issue-based examinations to achieve compliance. Because the contractor has never constructed construction bookkeeping this type of building before, the contractor anticipates that it will incur substantially higher costs to construct the first building. In 2005, a contractor enters into two separate contracts as the result of a single negotiation to construct two identical special use buildings (i.e. nuclear plant). The long-term contract must also be for the manufacture, building, installation, or construction of property.

• PCM estimates the total amount of inputs or outputs for a construction project and applies a ratio of actual activity in a period to the project’s total estimated activity.
• When choosing the method to use, it is important to pick the method that could create the best tax deferral.
• Larger construction businesses (those with gross receipts over $10 million) must always use the percentage-of-completion method, while smaller ones must do so only for contracts that will take longer than two years to complete.
• And small companies can avoid the IRS look back for contracts up to two years.
• Although the contractor has discretion in accumulating and allocating costs, the basis for cost allocation must be reasonable.
• In this article, we’ll explain the percentage of completion method, how it works, and give you some real-life examples.

Under this election, income and expenses are not recognized for tax purposes until the contract is over 10%. Depending on the size of the contract, this could create a sizable deferral. Under the accrual method, revenue is recognized the earlier of received or paid. This often creates the smallest deferral for a contractor—under the accrual method, overbillings are taxable. When using the completed contract method, it is important to plan and keep a focus on your backlog.

Completed Contract Method (CCM): Examples in Accounting

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