What is the Section 179 Deduction?

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income. It's an incentive created by the US Government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves. It is sometimes referred to as the "SUV Tax Loophole" or the "Hummer Deduction" because many businesses have used this tax code to purchase qualifying vehicles (like SUV's and Hummers.)

New for 2011

Important 4th quarter tax planning implications. Both the 'Tax Relief Act of 2010' as well as the 'Jobs Act of 2010' that passed in late 2010 affected Section 179 in a positive way for this 2011 tax year. The newest changes are as follows:

The Section 179 Deduction limit increased to $500,000. The total amount of equipment that can be purchased increased to $2 million. This includes most new and used capital equipment, and also includes certain software.

“Bonus Depreciation” increased to 100% on qualified assets. However, this can be taken on new equipment only.

When applying these provisions, Section 179 is generally taken first, followed by Bonus Depreciation – unless the business has no taxable profit in 2011.

For full details visit www.section179.org