ASC 350-50: Website Development Costs
ASC 350-50 is the U.S. GAAP standard for capitalizing website development costs — which build costs become an asset, and which are expensed.
In plain terms: building a website is part design, part software. ASC 350-50 says the software-like development work can be capitalized, while planning and day-to-day operation are expensed.
ASC 350-50 (Intangibles — Goodwill and Other: Website Development Costs) mirrors the internal-use software stages of ASC 350-40:
- Planning stage — defining the site and evaluating options. Expensed.
- Application and infrastructure development — coding the site’s software and standing up its hosting. Capitalized.
- Graphics — generally capitalized as part of the application.
- Content development — judged on the purpose of the activity; often expensed.
- Operating stage — routine content updates, maintenance, and hosting. Expensed.
Under ASU 2025-06, ASC 350-50 is folded into ASC 350-40, so website costs fall under the same internal-use model for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027.
See also: website development costs in the capitalization guide.
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