You do, however, have $160k worth of software that is generating ~$16k/mo in revenue (or more since you presumably did not make that $200k evenly spread out acr

You do, however, have $160k worth of software that is generating ~$16k/mo in revenue (or more since you presumably did not make that $200k evenly spread out across year 1 while you were developing the software), so in year 2 you could halt further development, use a loan to get through the 2 months it takes to make the money to pay your taxes, and then make $176k profit. Then you pay your taxes on year 2 and walk away with $152k in the bank along with $120k worth of software asset. (Of course an asset that generates $200k/year is actually worth far more than $200k, so in that case 20% depreciation seems even more absurd)