Definitions for "Section 179 Expense Deduction"
Also known as “expensing,” a special election provided in the tax law, with which the taxpayer deducts the cost of certain business equipment and other depreciable property currently, rather treating it as a capital expenditure and recovering the costs over time.
Under section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code, you can choose to recover all or part of the cost of certain qualifying property, up to a limit, by deducting it in the year you place the property in service. This is the section 179 deduction. You can elect the section 179 deduction instead of recovering the cost by taking depreciation deductions.
An election to treat the cost of certain qualified property as a currently deductible expense rather than as a capital expenditure. This treatment is also referred to as expensing. A maximum deduction of $19,000 may be claimed for qualified assets placed in service in 1999. The $19,000 deduction may be limited if the cost of depreciable assets placed in service in 1999 exceeded $200,000.