#depreciation
Depreciation
Methods and strategies for depreciating fixed assets including straight-line, MACRS, and accelerated depreciation
Form 4797 Demystified: How Depreciation Recapture and Section 1231 Decide Whether Your Business Sale Is Ordinary or Capital
Form 4797 governs every business property sale outside Schedule D and decides whether your gain is ordinary or capital. This guide walks through Section 1245 and 1250 recapture, the Section 1231 five-year lookback rule, the 25% unrecaptured Section 1250 gain rate, and seven mistakes that trigger CP2000 notices.
Reverse 1031 Exchange: How to Buy Your Replacement Property Before Selling the Old One
A reverse 1031 exchange lets a real estate investor close on a replacement property before selling the relinquished one by parking title with an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder under Revenue Procedure 2000-37's safe harbor. The taxpayer must identify the relinquished property within 45 days and complete the swap within 180 days, with no extensions. EAT fees typically run $5,000 to $15,000 above a forward exchange, so the deferred gain needs to be large enough to justify the cost.
Schedule M-1 and M-3: Reconciling GAAP Book Income to Taxable Income
Schedule M-1 and M-3 reconcile a corporation's GAAP book income to taxable income. This guide explains the $10M and $50M asset thresholds, permanent versus temporary differences, and the recurring reconciling items — depreciation, meals, federal tax expense, bad debt reserves, and stock-based compensation — that draw IRS scrutiny.
Section 163(j) Business Interest Limitation: The 30% ATI Cap and OBBBA's EBITDA Restoration
OBBBA permanently restored the EBITDA-based ATI calculation for Section 163(j) starting in 2025, expanding deductible business interest for capital-intensive companies. A guide to the 30% cap, the ~$31M small business exemption, the 35% syndicate trap, EBIE allocations from partnerships, S-corp differences, and Form 8990 reporting.
Section 280F Luxury Auto Depreciation Limits: The SUV Loophole and How to Maximize Your Business Vehicle Write-Off
Section 280F caps first-year depreciation on passenger autos at $20,300 in 2026, but SUVs and trucks rated above 6,000 lbs GVWR escape those limits and can combine a $32,000 Section 179 deduction with 100% bonus depreciation. A practical guide to the 2026 numbers, the heavy-vehicle and pickup carve-outs, the 50% business-use cliff, and the mileage-log standards an IRS auditor expects.
The Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole: Offsetting W-2 Income Without Real Estate Professional Status
How short-term rentals sit outside the Section 469 passive loss rules, what the seven-day average and material participation tests actually require, and how a six-figure W-2 earner can use cost segregation and 100% bonus depreciation to legally offset wage income.
Form 3115 Demystified: How to Change Your Accounting Method and Unlock Tax Savings
Form 3115 lets U.S. taxpayers change accounting methods and use a Section 481(a) adjustment to recover missed deductions or correct multi-year errors on a single current-year return, without amending prior years.
Passive Activity Loss Rules: A Real Estate Investor's Guide to the $25,000 Allowance and the Real Estate Professional Election
Section 469 makes rental losses passive by default, so most cannot offset W-2 income. This guide covers the $25,000 special allowance and its $100k–$150k MAGI phase-out, the 750-hour and 50% real estate professional tests, the 1.469-9(g) aggregation election, audit-tested time-log practices, and how suspended losses unlock on disposition.
Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchange: A Real Estate Investor's Guide to Indefinite Tax Deferral
Section 1031 lets real estate investors defer capital gains and depreciation recapture by swapping investment properties, but only when the 45-day identification window, 180-day closing deadline, qualified intermediary rules, and post-TCJA like-kind requirements are followed exactly.
Cost Segregation Studies: How Real Estate Investors Turn a Building Into Five-Figure Tax Savings
A cost segregation study reclassifies a building's components into shorter MACRS lives, unlocking the 100% bonus depreciation permanently restored by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 2025. On a $1M residential rental, that swings first-year tax savings from roughly $10,700 to roughly $90,600—provided the investor clears IRC §469 passive activity loss limits.
Small Business Tax Deductions 2026: The Complete Master List
A category-by-category guide to every major small business tax deduction for 2026, including the $2,560,000 Section 179 cap, 60% bonus depreciation, the 68.5-cent mileage rate, the 50% meals rule, and the documentation needed to defend each one on audit.
How to Deduct Website Development Costs: A Tax Guide for Small Business Owners
A category-by-category breakdown of how small businesses deduct website costs in 2026 under Section 174A, including the OBBBA retroactive election deadline of July 6, 2026, and where each expense lands on Schedule C.