Year-end purchases
Section 179, in plain language.
A deduction that can change what a truck really costs you — and a timing question worth raising with your accountant before the year closes.
Normally, when a business buys equipment, the cost is written off gradually over several years through depreciation. Section 179 of the US tax code allows qualifying equipment to be deducted in the year it is placed in service instead.
Those last three words carry the whole thing. It is not the year you ordered it, and not necessarily the year you paid for it — it is the year the equipment actually went to work. A truck bought in December and running in December sits in a different tax year to the same truck delivered in January.
That is why this comes up every autumn, and why the answer depends on facts only your accountant has: your taxable income this year against next, what else you have already bought, how the purchase is financed, and how your business is structured.
Take these to your accountant
- 01Does this year or next year suit my taxable income better?
- 02Does the equipment I am looking at qualify, and does how I use it matter?
- 03What counts as placed in service, and what date would that be for a December delivery?
- 04How does financing or leasing the equipment change the treatment?
- 05What are this year’s limits and phase-outs, and do they affect me?
- 06Is bonus depreciation relevant alongside this, or instead of it?
This is not tax advice. Elgin Equipment Leasing is not a tax advisor, and nothing on this page is a recommendation about your situation. Deduction limits, phase-outs, bonus depreciation rules and eligibility change from year to year and depend on facts specific to your business. Confirm everything with a qualified tax professional before making a purchase decision on the strength of it.