[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR9904.404-60]

[Page 382-383]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
     CHAPTER 99--COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD, OFFICE OF FEDERAL 
           PROCUREMENT POLICY, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
 
PART 9904--COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 9904.404-60  Illustrations.

    (a) Illustrations of costs which must be capitalized. (1) Contractor 
has an established policy of capitalizing tangible assets which have a 
service life of more than 1 year and a cost of $2,000. The contractor's 
policy must be modified to conform to the $1,500 policy limitation on 
minimum acquisition cost established by the Standard.
    (i) Contractor acquires a tangible capital asset with a life of 18 
months of a cost of $1,700. The Standard requires that the asset be 
capitalized in compliance with contractor's policy as to service life.
    (ii) Contractor acquires a tangible asset with a life of 18 months 
at a cost of $900. The asset need not be capitalized unless the 
contractor's revised policy establishes a minimum cost criterion below 
$900.
    (2) Contractor has an established policy of capitalizing tangible 
assets which have a service life of more than 1 year and a cost of $250. 
Contractor acquires a tangible asset with a life of 18 months and a cost 
of $300. The Standard requires that, based upon contractor's policy, the 
asset be capitalized.

[[Page 383]]

    (3) Contractor establishes a major new production facility. In the 
process, a number of large and small items of equipment were acquired to 
outfit it. The contractor has an established policy of capitalizing 
individual items of tangible assets which have a service life of over 1 
year and a cost of $500, and all items meeting these requirements were 
capitalized. In addition, the contractor's policy requires 
capitalization of an original complement which has a service life of 
over 1 year and a cost of $5,000. Items of durable equipment acquired 
for the production facility costing less than $500 each aggregated 
$50,000. Based upon the contractor's policy, the durable equipment items 
must be capitalized as the original complement of low cost equipment. 
(The concept of original complement applies to such items as books in a 
new library, impact wrenches in a new factory, work benches and racks in 
a new production facility, or furniture and fixtures in a new office 
building.)
    (4) Contractor has an established policy for treating its heavy 
presses and their power supplies as separate asset accountability units. 
A power supply is replaced during the service life of the related press. 
The Standard requires that, based upon the contractor's policy, the new 
power supply be capitalized with appropriate accounting for the replaced 
unit.
    (b) Illustrations of costs which need not be capitalized. (1) The 
contractor has an established policy of capitalizing tangible assets 
which have a service life of 2 years and a cost of $500. The contractor 
acquires an asset with a useful life of 18 months and a cost of $5,000. 
The tangible asset should be expensed because it does not meet the 2-
year criterion.
    (2) The contractor establishes a new assembly line. In outfitting 
the line, the contractor acquires $5,000 of small tools. On similar 
assembly lines under similar conditions, the original complement of 
small tools was expensed because the complement was replaced annually as 
a result of loss, pilferage, breakage, and physical wear and tear. 
Because the unit of original complement does not meet the contractor's 
service life criterion for capitalization (1 year), the small tools may 
be expensed.