Lindquist, von Husen & Joyce LLP.

  • About
    • Mission & Values
    • Leadership
    • BKR International
    • Our History
  • Services
    • Audit & Attestation
    • Tax
    • Business Advisory & Other Services
  • Expertise
    • Affordable Housing & Real Estate
      • CAS+ for Affordable Housing
    • Not-For-Profits
    • Individuals & Families
    • Closely Held Businesses
    • Client Success Stories
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Tax Guide
  • News & Events
    • Firm News
    • Events
    • Industry News
  • Careers
    • Benefits
    • Professional Development
    • Life at LvHJ
    • Meet Our People
    • Open Positions
  • Contact
  • Client Portal

Client Portal

Forgot password?

First-year bonus depreciation and Sec. 179 expensing: Watch out for the pitfalls

January 12, 2023   |   Posted in: Tax Laws

Bulldozers digging up land for real estate development

As tax experts in California, we’ve seen different situations where clients decide not to claim bonus depreciation, and in many situations, they do claim it. Which will you choose? At LvHJ, we are here as your advisors, and our goal is to point you in the right direction.

Many companies are eligible for tax write-offs for certain equipment purchases and building improvements. These write-offs can do wonders for a business’s cash flow, but whether to claim them isn’t always an easy decision. In some cases, there are advantages to following the regular depreciation rules. So it’s critical to look at the big picture and develop a strategy that aligns with your company’s overall tax-planning objectives.

Background

Taxpayers can elect to claim 100% bonus depreciation or Section 179 expensing to deduct the full cost of eligible property up front, in the year it’s placed in service. Alternatively, they may spread depreciation deductions over several years or decades, depending on how the tax code classifies the property.

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), 100% bonus depreciation is available for property placed in service through 2022. Without further legislation, bonus depreciation will be phased down to 80% for property placed in service in 2023, 60% in 2024, 40% in 2025, and 20% in 2026; then, after 2026, bonus depreciation will no longer be available. (For certain property with longer production periods, these reductions are delayed by one year. For example, 80% bonus depreciation will apply to long-production-period property placed in service in 2024.)

In March 2020, a technical correction made by the CARES Act expanded the availability of bonus depreciation. Under the correction, qualified improvement property (QIP), which includes many interior improvements to commercial buildings, is eligible for 100% bonus depreciation not only following the phaseout schedule through 2026 but also retroactively to 2018. So, taxpayers that placed QIP in service in 2018 and 2019 may have an opportunity to claim bonus depreciation by amending their returns for those years. If bonus depreciation isn’t claimed, QIP is generally depreciable on a straight-line basis over 15 years.

Sec. 179 also allows taxpayers to fully deduct the cost of eligible property, but the maximum deduction in a given year is $1 million (adjusted for inflation to $1.08 million for 2022), and the deduction is gradually phased out once a taxpayer’s qualifying expenditures exceed $2.5 million (adjusted for inflation to $2.7 million for 2022).

Examples

While 100% first-year bonus depreciation or Sec. 179 expensing can significantly lower your company’s taxable income, it’s not always a smart move. Here are three examples of situations where it may be preferable to forgo bonus depreciation or Sec. 179 expensing:

  1. You’re planning to sell QIP. If you’ve invested heavily in building improvements that are eligible for bonus depreciation as QIP and you plan to sell the building in the near future, you may be stepping into a tax trap by claiming the QIP write-off. That’s because your gain on the sale — up to the amount of bonus depreciation or Sec. 179 deductions you’ve claimed — will be treated as “recaptured” depreciation that’s taxable at ordinary-income tax rates as high as 37%. On the other hand, if you deduct the cost of QIP under regular depreciation rules (generally, over 15 years), any long-term gain attributable to those deductions will be taxable at a top rate of 25% upon the building’s sale.
  2. You’re eligible for the Sec. 199A “pass-through” deduction. This deduction allows eligible business owners to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI) from certain pass-through entities, such as partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations, as well as sole proprietorships. The deduction, which is available through 2025 under the TCJA, can’t exceed 20% of an owner’s taxable income, excluding net capital gains. (Several other restrictions apply.)
    Claiming bonus depreciation or Sec. 179 deductions reduces your QBI, which may deprive you of an opportunity to maximize the 199A deduction. And since the 199A deduction is scheduled to expire in 2025, it makes sense to take advantage of it while you can.
  3. Your depreciation deductions may be more valuable in the future. The value of a deduction is based on its ability to reduce your tax bill. If you think your tax rate will go up in the coming years, either because you believe Congress will increase rates or you expect to be in a higher bracket, depreciation write-offs may be worth more in future years than they are now.

Timing is everything

Keep in mind that forgoing bonus depreciation or Sec. 179 deductions only affects the timing of those deductions. You’ll still have an opportunity to write off the full cost of eligible assets; it will just be over a longer time period. Your tax advisor can analyze how these write-offs interact with other tax benefits and help you determine the optimal strategy for your situation.

Do you have questions about how this applies to your unique situation? Send us a message and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

Next: Tax Breaks for Small Businesses


 


Recent Posts

  • 5 Email Don’ts When Submitting Your Resume
  • Deal Funding: Deferred Developer Fee Is Only One Solution
  • IRS Provides Tax Relief for California Storm Victims
  • First-year bonus depreciation and Sec. 179 expensing: Watch out for the pitfalls
  • Business Energy Credit Impacted by Inflation Reduction Act

Categories

  • Affordable Housing
  • Business Advisory Services
  • Case Studies
  • Charitable Giving
  • Individual Tax
  • Not For Profit
  • Professional Development
  • Tax Laws
  • Timely News
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017

Tags

179 accounting careers Affordable Housing affordable housing CPA affordable housing financial statement audits audit Blog Blog Post board management business energy credits California Careers charitable donations compensation CPA careers depreciation pitfalls extension inflation inflation reduction act IRS LIHTC major gifts May 2023 nonprofit Not for Profit Professional Development retirement planning San Francisco succession tax Tax Credit Compliance taxes tax expert california tax jobs tax planning tax reform tax relief tax services California write-offs year 15 buyouts

Connect with us on

  • About
  • Services
  • Expertise
  • Resources
  • News & Events
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Client Portal
©2023 Lindquist, von Husen & Joyce LLP. All Rights Reserved.