Section 179 –Quarter Two

By | May 1, 2013

So here we are, well into the second quarter of 2013. Have you thought about Section 179 yet? You definitely should – here’s why.

Like I mentioned back in January, Section 179 got a nice boost this year. It was shaping up to be a pretty lousy year for Section 179, with a measly $25,000 deduction (it’s funny how spoiled we get – is 25k really EVER considered “measly”?).

But then the fiscal cliff crisis was happening, and a fiscal cliff bill was passed. And tucked neatly inside that bill was an upgrade for Section 179. And it took the maximum deduction from $25,000 all the way to $500,000 (and that’s not measly by any stretch).

This is pretty big news, to be honest with you. We’ve seen Section 179 jump all over the place throughout the years, but $500,000 is nothing to sneeze at. This means you can buy new (or new to you) equipment, and reap some big rewards this year.

Here’s a quick list of qualifying equipment:

  • Tangible equipment for general business use (manufacturing machines and similar).
  • Tangible personal property that is used in business (partial use qualifies as well. For example, Laptops that are taken home and used for personal computing as well can be partially deducted.)
  • Business Vehicles with a GVW (gross vehicle weight) that exceeds 6,000 lbs. (typically cargo vans, dump trucks, heavy machinery, etc.)
  • Computers and “off-the-shelf” software.
  • Office Furniture and Office Machines.
  • “Installed” equipment that is attached to your property, but is not a structural part of the building (like perhaps an overhead crane, or a large printing press).

So, see anything in the list above that can help your business? Perhaps some new machinery, new cubicles for the office, new desks, or similar? You can deduct the full purchase price of it all, up to $500,000. Not bad, huh? Plus (and you knew this was coming), if you finance this equipment, you can even turn Section 179 into a profit center for 2013. More on that in another post.

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