Tax years beginning after December 31, 2021 now require research costs to be capitalized and amortized over five years (non-U.S. costs over 15 years). Historically, taxpayers had the option of capitalizing or expensing. Without legislative action soon, the handling of these costs will change.
While the obvious implication is removing most of the expense - by putting those costs on the balance sheet instead - the other main implication is what is included in those costs. Section 174, which drives this scenario, is much broader than Section 41, and thus expenses pertaining to overhead, foreign research, patent costs, and other development costs will now move from the P&L to the balance sheet as well.
Another factor many taxpayers overlook is that these implications are factual and not voluntary, so understanding what costs to look for and how they will impact your net income and cash flow from tax implications is critical.