IRS Grants Tech, Pharma a Tax Break Boost From Trump Deduction

Feb. 19, 2026, 2:01 AM UTC

The Internal Revenue Service handed out a hefty tax break to large corporations, ensuring that President Donald Trump’s lucrative research and development deduction doesn’t increase their tax bills under a Biden-era 15% minimum levy.

The agency issued interim guidance Wednesday allowing companies to claim a backlog of R&D deductions stretching back to 2022, while minimizing their exposure to the 15% tax Democrats established for large corporations under former President Joe Biden.

The new guidance doesn’t necessarily mean companies can avoid triggering the corporate minimum tax if they claim the backlog of deductions, yet it does allow them to ...

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