Section 179: A Small Business Perspective

Has your business been considering purchasing new equipment but unsure about how you’ll handle the expense? If so, CAS wants to let you know about the Section 179 Deduction.

The deduction is designed to make large purchases attractive to small businesses. Nearly all business equipment — including machinery, computers, software, office furniture, and vehicles — can be written off at the full purchase price.

Further, the deduction doesn’t only apply to purchases. It also applies to leasing and financing, options which are particularly useful, because your write off can exceed the total payments for the year.

For 2016, the Section 179 Deduction limit is $500,000. It applies equally to new and used equipment. Because the deduction is intended for small businesses, your purchases cannot exceed $500,000.

You want to act to soon because Section 179 changes each year (it can even change mid-year). The deadline to purchase these materials is December 21, 2016 — that’s seventy days from now. Not only do you have to make your purchases by this deadline, you also have to put the equipment to use.

CAS is happy to guide you through the process, or help you make decisions if you’re still on the fence about making a big purchase for your company before the end of the year.