Under these rules no. If the "machine" is software, payroll is considered a capital expense and an asset. If it's an actual machine, payroll for building it is fully deductible, like most other payroll.
Software used to work like other payroll until fairly recently. If you want to understand this figure out why that changed and what the actual motivation behind it was
> If it's an actual machine, payroll for building it is fully deductible, like most other payroll.
Not if the machine is used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or extraction, or an integral part of furnishing transportation, communications, electrical energy, gas, water, or sewage disposal services by a person engaged in a trade or business of furnishing any such service, or is a research or storage facility used in connection with any of the foregoing activities.