IRS MACRS tables with Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation for business assets
Updated October 2026
Cost is what you paid, including sales tax, shipping and installation. Pick the property class from the list (Publication 946 assigns each kind of asset a recovery period). Use the half-year convention unless more than 40% of the depreciable basis of everything you placed in service this year (other than real estate) went into service in the last three months; then every asset that year uses the mid-quarter convention for the quarter it started. Enter the business-use percentage, then choose whether to take bonus depreciation and how much to expense under Section 179. The total Section 179 property field matters only if your purchases for the year approach $4,090,000. The result lists each year’s deduction and percentage.
Most business equipment uses the General Depreciation System: 200% declining balance switching to straight line when that is larger (150% for 15-year property), with half a year of depreciation in the first year under the half-year convention. The IRS publishes the result as percentage tables, so the math is basis × table rate. For $30,000 of 5-year equipment: 2026: $30,000 × 20.00% = $6,000; 2027: × 32.00% = $9,600; 2028: × 19.20% = $5,760; 2029 and 2030: × 11.52% = $3,456 each; 2031: × 5.76% = $1,728. A "5-year" asset takes six tax years because the first and last are half years.
| Class | Percent by year (year 1 first) |
|---|---|
| 3-year | 33.33, 44.45, 14.81, 7.41 |
| 5-year | 20.00, 32.00, 19.20, 11.52, 11.52, 5.76 |
| 7-year | 14.29, 24.49, 17.49, 12.49, 8.93, 8.92, 8.93, 4.46 |
| 10-year | 10.00, 18.00, 14.40, 11.52, 9.22, 7.37, 6.55, 6.55, 6.56, 6.55, 3.28 |
| 15-year | 5.00, 9.50, 8.55, 7.70, 6.93, 6.23, 5.90, 5.90, 5.91, 5.90, 5.91, 5.90, 5.91, 5.90, 5.91, 2.95 |
| Placed in service | 5-year | 7-year |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 35.00% | 25.00% |
| Apr–Jun | 25.00% | 17.85% |
| Jul–Sep | 15.00% | 10.71% |
| Oct–Dec | 5.00% | 3.57% |
Heavy fourth-quarter buying is what triggers the mid-quarter convention, and it cuts the first-year rate for those assets from 20% to 5% on 5-year property. The 40% test uses each asset’s basis after any Section 179 expensing and personal-use share, but before bonus depreciation (Publication 946).
| Case | Regular MACRS, year one | With bonus (and 179 where noted) | Other route |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 machine placed in service in June (7-year, half-year) | $4,287 | $30,000 | $30,000 (Section 179 instead) |
| $80,000 SUV over 6,000 lb GVWR, 100% business (5-year) | $16,000 | $80,000 (179 capped at $32,000, bonus on the rest) | $41,600 (179 $32,000 + MACRS) |
| Three laptops, $6,000, bought in December when they are most of the year’s purchases (5-year) | $300 (mid-quarter Q4: 5.00%) | $6,000 | Half-year would have given $1,200 |
| Same $30,000 machine in a state that does not follow federal bonus | $4,287 state | $30,000 federal | Track two depreciation schedules |
Section 179 is an election you choose asset by asset and dollar amount by dollar amount, but it cannot exceed your taxable business income for the year (any excess carries forward). Bonus depreciation applies automatically to every asset in a class unless you elect out for that class, and it can create a loss. Many owners use bonus first and Section 179 to fine-tune, or regular MACRS when they expect higher income in later years.
For tax years beginning in 2026, the Section 179 limit is $2,560,000, reduced dollar for dollar by the cost of Section 179 property placed in service above $4,090,000; the deduction for a sport utility vehicle is capped at $32,000 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and Publication 946). P.L. 119-21 (July 4, 2025) made 100% bonus depreciation permanent for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025, replacing the phase-down that had cut it to 40% for 2025. For the first tax year ending after January 19, 2025, you may elect 40% instead. Business use must be more than 50% for listed property such as vehicles to qualify for either.
Passenger automobiles rated 6,000 pounds or less gross vehicle weight are capped each year no matter which method you use. For a car placed in service in 2025, Publication 946 lists $20,200 for the first year with bonus ($12,200 without), then $19,600, $11,800 and $7,060 a year after that; the IRS publishes new caps each year. Trucks and SUVs over 6,000 pounds GVWR are not subject to those caps, which is why heavy SUVs are popular business purchases, but the Section 179 portion for an SUV is limited to $32,000 for 2026; bonus depreciation can cover the rest. Check the GVWR on the driver’s door label.
States decide for themselves whether to follow federal bonus depreciation and the Section 179 limits. California, for example, lists IRC 168(k) bonus depreciation as a federal and state difference and caps its own Section 179 deduction at $25,000, reduced above $200,000 of purchases (FTB 3885A instructions, 2025). If your state differs, you keep a separate state depreciation schedule and the state deduction is spread over the MACRS years.
Missing the mid-quarter test after a December buying spree. Depreciating land, which never wears out. Taking Section 179 above business income; the excess is not lost, but it carries forward instead of creating a loss. Dropping to 50% or less business use on a vehicle in a later year, which triggers recapture of Section 179 and the accelerated part of depreciation. Forgetting recapture on sale: gain up to the depreciation taken on equipment is taxed as ordinary income (section 1245). Assuming the 100% rate for property acquired before January 20, 2025, which stays under the old phase-down rules even if placed in service later.
It does not handle real estate (27.5-year residential rental or 39-year nonresidential property), the Alternative Depreciation System, short tax years, dispositions, like-kind exchanges, the business income limit for Section 179, passenger auto caps, qualified production property, or state adjustments. A tax professional is worth consulting for large purchases near year end, vehicle elections, or any asset you might sell within a few years.