How do I treat copyrights, publishing rights as assets

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 8, 2020
1 reply
0 views

Through 2019 I have published four historical novels that are publicly sold. How can I take advantage of those rights in my tax return?

LudwigVan_fan

Employee

Generally, copyrights and publishing rights as treated as intangible assets under U.S. Code 26, IRC Section 197 when you purchase them. But there are exceptions, especially in the 2018 Tax Act. Generally the income received from the royalties from the book sales would be treated as ordinary income.

If the links don't answer your question, you might want to consider consulting a tax professional.

Some links for further reading and information:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/intangibles

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/tax-tips-for-freelance-writers-and-self-published-authors/L1v0lGVru

**Disclaimer: Effort has been made to offer correct information; but due to the discussion forum limitations, the poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the poster's response**