http://www.accountingtools.com/questions-and-answers/what-is-the-correct-capitalization-limit.html
A capitalization limit ("cap limit") is the threshold above which an entity capitalizes purchased or constructed assets. Below the cap limit, you generally charge assets to expense
instead. There is no specifically required cap limit; you should
consider a number of factors before settling upon the most appropriate
limit.
If you set the cap limit extremely low, then you'll shift some expenditures into fixed assets
that you would normally have charged off at once, which will make
short-term profits look somewhat higher. On the other hand, you'll still
need to charge these items to expense eventually, so a low cap limit
increases your depreciation expense in later years.
If you set a high cap limit, then there will be substantially fewer
assets to record in a fixed assets register, which can greatly reduce
the work load of the accounting staff.
However, if you set too high a cap limit, then a larger number of
big-ticket purchases will be charged to expense in the current period,
which tends to make month-to-month profits vary more than operating
results would normally indicate.
Setting a low cap limit will also create a larger fixed assets
register on which your local government jurisdiction will be more than
happy to charge personal property taxes, whereas an excessively high cap
limit will yield so few reportable assets that it may trigger a
time-consuming government tax audit.
Thus, there is no perfect answer. I prefer having fewer fixed asset
records to keep track of, so I prefer a relatively high cap limit. If
management wants to impose a really low cap limit in order to bolster
short-term earnings, then explain to them that this will result in more
short-term income taxes, as well as more personal property taxes,
potentially for years to come.
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