Licence income in the US
How is data licensing income taxed? The US statutes
Licensing data and selling it outright are treated differently, and a few states tax the data service itself; this page sets out what the statutes we read say, not advice on any one deal.
Licence income
26 U.S.C. 61 defines gross income as all income from whatever source derived, which is where payments under a data licence are read from.
Source: Data licence income tax rules
Data as an asset
Section 197 counts business books and records and any other information base, customer lists included, as an intangible a buyer amortises over 15 years. Section 1221 defines a capital asset and excludes property held for sale to customers, while section 1235's capital-gain rule for a transfer of all substantial rights reaches patents only.
Source: Data licence income tax rules
States that tax the service
New York's sales tax reaches the furnishing of information, excluding information that is personal or individual in nature, and Washington defines a digital automated service as any service transferred electronically that uses one or more software applications.
Source: Data licence income tax rules
More from this site
The UK rules are on VAT on data licences.