#depreciation
Depreciation
Methods and strategies for depreciating fixed assets including straight-line, MACRS, and accelerated depreciation
Section 45L Before the Lights Go Out: How Builders and Developers Can Still Claim $2,500 to $5,000 Per Unit Before June 30, 2026
Section 45L pays builders and developers $500 to $5,000 per energy-efficient home, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ends the credit for homes acquired after June 30, 2026. A practical guide to ENERGY STAR versus Zero Energy Ready certification, prevailing wage rules on multifamily, the LIHTC basis carve-out, and the Form 8908 mechanics that decide whether the credit survives audit.
Section 45W Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit: How Business Fleets Still Claim Up to $40,000 in 2026 After the OBBBA Cliff
Section 45W ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, but businesses with a binding contract and a payment by that date can still claim up to $7,500 for light EVs or $40,000 for heavy trucks in 2026 — here is how the credit is calculated, filed on Form 8936, and refunded as cash to tax-exempt fleets through elective pay.
Section 514 UDFI Demystified: How Nonprofits, Foundations, and Self-Directed IRAs Get Taxed on Borrowed-Money Investments
How Section 514 of the Internal Revenue Code taxes leveraged investments held by 501(c)(3) organizations, private foundations, and self-directed IRAs — including the debt/basis percentage calculation, Form 990-T mechanics, the 12-month look-back on sale, and the Section 514(c)(9) real estate exception for schools and pension trusts.
The Self-Rental Rule: Why Your Building Rents Are Nonpassive but Your Losses Stay Passive
Reg. 1.469-2(f)(6) recharacterizes net rental income from property you rent to your own active business as nonpassive while leaving rental losses passive. This guide explains the asymmetry, walks through a dentist example with a $200,000 cost segregation deduction, and shows how the Reg. 1.469-4 grouping election can collapse the rule.
Repair or Capitalize? A Plain-English Guide to the Section 263(a)-3 Tangible Property Rules for Small Businesses
How the IRS Section 263(a)-3 tangible property regulations decide what small businesses can deduct now versus capitalize over decades — with the three safe harbors ($2,500/$5,000 de minimis, the small taxpayer building rule, and routine maintenance), the BRA test, and the unit-of-property trap that drives most mistakes.
Gain or Loss on Asset Disposal: Recording Sales, Scrapping, and Trade-Ins with Form 4797
A four-step pattern for recording the sale, scrap, or trade-in of business equipment—plus how Section 1245 depreciation recapture flows onto Form 4797 at tax time.
Section 1031 Boot Recognition: Cash Boot, Mortgage Boot, and Partial Deferral on Form 8824
A working guide to how the IRS computes boot in a Section 1031 exchange — cash boot, mortgage boot, the four netting rules, depreciation recapture at 25%, carryover basis, and Form 8824 reporting — with a worked example showing how $200K of fresh equity can wipe out $200K of mortgage boot.
Tangible Personal Property Tax: A Small Business Guide to TPP Returns, Freeport Exemptions, and Ghost Assets
A practical guide to the tangible personal property (TPP) tax that 38 U.S. states require small businesses to file every January, covering de minimis thresholds in 12 states, freeport inventory exemptions in 8 inventory-tax states, ghost-asset overpayment, and the annual asset-register workflow that keeps your bill honest.
Qualified Improvement Property Under Section 168(e)(6): How Restaurant, Retail, and Office Build-Outs Unlock 15-Year Recovery and 100% Bonus Depreciation
Qualified Improvement Property (QIP) under Section 168(e)(6) lets nonresidential interior build-outs use a 15-year recovery period and qualify for 100% bonus depreciation after the OBBBA. Covers the statutory test, three exclusions, TCJA-to-OBBBA history, a worked $540,000 restaurant example, and Form 3115 catch-up deductions.
Section 163(j) Interest Expense Limitation: 30% ATI, the Small Business Exemption, and the Real Property Trade Election
Section 163(j) caps the business interest deduction at 30% of adjusted taxable income, and OBBBA restored the EBITDA-style add-back for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. This guide walks through the calculation, the small business exemption under Section 448(c), the irrevocable real property trade or business election, the partnership EBIE basis trap, and the Form 8990 reporting choreography.
Section 338(h)(10) Election: How Buyers and Sellers Turn a Stock Deal Into an Asset Deal
A practical guide to the federal tax election that lets buyers and sellers of S corporations and consolidated-group subsidiaries treat a stock purchase as an asset purchase for tax purposes — covering Form 8023, the seller gross-up, purchase price allocation under Section 1060, and the mistakes that commonly kill the election.
Section 469 Passive Activity Loss Rules: How Real Estate Investors Unlock Trapped Losses
A practical guide to Section 469 for real estate investors and side-business owners — the seven material participation tests, the $25,000 active-rental allowance, the real estate professional carve-out, the short-term rental angle, and the disposition rules that release suspended losses.