intangible drilling costs

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Intangible Drilling Costs

Expenses a company has when it drills for oil or natural gas. Intangible drilling costs are sometimes convenient for a company's tax purposes because it can deduct intangible drilling costs in one year when the company perhaps found little or no oil from profits made in a different year when the company does find oil.

intangible drilling costs

Expenses incurred while exploring for gas, geothermal, or oil reserves. These items may be expensed in the year incurred, or they may be capitalized and deducted throughout a period of years. Intangible drilling costs are an effective means of reducing taxes because they can be used to offset income in a single year even though the costs were incurred in order to produce or develop a capital asset (energy reserves) that will in turn generate income for many years. Costs for fuel, preparation of a site, and wages are examples of intangible drilling costs.
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In many oil and gas programs, the investor will be able to take first year income tax deductions for the intangible drilling and development costs associated with drilling the wells.
Previously, income programs were generally not considered to be "tax shelters" because deductions for percentage depletion and intangible drilling and development costs were generally not available.
The two deductions that are peculiar to oil and gas programs (and certain other extractive industries) and that provide the major incentives for investing in an oil or gas limited partnership are the deductions for intangible drilling and development costs (see Q 7841 to Q 7844) and depletion (see Q 7845 to Q 7854).
Intangible drilling and development costs (more commonly referred to as "intangible drilling costs" or "IDCs") are expenditures made by an operator in the development of an oil or natural gas property for wages, fuel, repairs, hauling, supplies, etc.
If drilling and development work is done by a contractor under an agreement with the operator, intangible drilling and development costs do not include those amounts that are payable to the contractor out of production or proceeds from production if such amounts are depletable income in the hands of the contractor, or amounts that are properly allocable to the cost of depreciable property.
Numerous rulings and cases have considered the eligibility of specific expenditures to be treated as intangible drilling and development costs and the special problems encountered in the case of offshore wells.
How are intangible drilling and development costs treated for purposes of the federal income tax?
Intangible drilling and development costs (IDCs) are capital in nature; however, the IRC and regulations provide a choice of alternatives for treatment of such costs.
As to how individual limited partners treat their allocated shares of intangible drilling and development costs after the partnership has made its election to capitalize or expense, see Q 7843 and Q 7844.
Part XI: Oil and gas
In Standard Oil, to deduct intangible drilling and development costs, the taxpayer reversed costs previously capitalized.
Change in accounting method vs. correction of an error
Answer--An investor with an interest in oil or gas property has two choices with respect to intangible drilling and development costs.
Each limited partner can recover his share of capital expenditures on his personal income tax return through depletion or depreciation if the limited partnership elects to capitalize intangible drilling and development costs.
Chapter 24 Oil and gas

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