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Section 179 calculator (2026)
How much of this year's equipment, vehicle and software purchases can you deduct right away? Enter what you placed in service and what you want to expense. The calculator applies the dollar limit, the phase-out, the business income limit and the SUV cap in the order Form 4562 uses, and shows what carries over.
This tax year
Total cost of all qualifying property placed in service this year, business-use share only. Form 4562, line 2.
Lines 6 and 7. You can expense part of an asset and depreciate the rest.
Taxable income from the active conduct of your trades or businesses, figured without the section 179 deduction. Leave blank to skip this limit.
Optional
Separate with semicolons. Each is capped at $32,000 for 2026.
Line 13 of last year's Form 4562.
Only to estimate the tax effect.
Form 4562, Part I, for 2026
| Form 4562 line | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximum amount | 2,560,000.00 |
| 2 | Total cost of section 179 property placed in service | 180,000.00 |
| 3 | Threshold cost before reduction in limitation | 4,090,000.00 |
| 4 | Reduction in limitation (line 2 − line 3, not less than 0) | – |
| 5 | Dollar limitation for the tax year (line 1 − line 4) | 2,560,000.00 |
| 8 | Total elected cost, after the heavy SUV cap | 180,000.00 |
| 9 | Tentative deduction (smaller of line 5 or line 8) | 180,000.00 |
| 10 | Carryover of disallowed deduction from last year | – |
| 11 | Business income limitation (smaller of business income or line 5) | 250,000.00 |
| 12 | Section 179 expense deduction | 180,000.00 |
| 13 | Carryover of disallowed deduction to next year | – |
Section 179 limits by year
| Tax year | Maximum deduction | Phase-out starts | Deduction reaches zero | Heavy SUV cap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $2,560,000 | $4,090,000 | $6,650,000 | $32,000 | Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.24 |
| 2025 | $2,500,000 | $4,000,000 | $6,500,000 | $31,300 | Publication 946 |
The IRS adjusts these amounts for inflation each year, usually in a revenue procedure published in the fall. This page shows the latest amounts it has published, for tax years beginning in 2026.
How the three limits work
1. The dollar limit and the phase-out
The phase-out takes section 179 away from businesses that place a lot of property in service. Place $4,390,000 of qualifying property in service in 2026, and the limit drops by $300,000 to $2,260,000.
2. The business income limit
The deduction can’t exceed your taxable income from the active conduct of your trades or businesses, figured without the section 179 deduction, the self-employment tax deduction or any net operating loss. Publication 946 counts wages earned as an employee, section 1231 gains and losses, and interest on working capital. With $180,000 of equipment and $120,000 of business income, you deduct $120,000 this year and carry $60,000 forward.
3. The heavy SUV cap
For tax years beginning in 2026, at most $32,000 of each heavy SUV’s cost can be expensed under section 179. Enter each SUV’s cost in the calculator’s optional field.
What section 179 doesn’t expense is depreciated, starting with any special depreciation allowance: 100% for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. The MACRS depreciation calculator takes a section 179 amount and a bonus percentage and builds the rest of the schedule.
What this calculator doesn’t check
- Whether each asset qualifies, or is used more than 50% for business.
- Partnership and S corporation rules: the limits apply to the entity and again to each partner or shareholder.
- The split between spouses filing separately.
- Recapture if business use later falls to 50% or less.
- State rules: a state can set its own section 179 limit or decline to follow federal bonus depreciation.
Section 179: questions
- What is the section 179 limit for 2026?
- For tax years beginning in 2026, Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.24 sets the maximum section 179 deduction at $2,560,000. It falls dollar for dollar once the cost of section 179 property you place in service during the year passes $4,090,000, and reaches zero at $6,650,000.
- What's the section 179 limit for SUVs?
- For tax years beginning in 2026, no more than $32,000 of the cost of a heavy sport utility vehicle can be expensed under section 179. The rest of its cost can still be depreciated, with bonus depreciation if it qualifies. Lighter passenger vehicles fall under separate dollar caps on depreciation for listed property.
- What property qualifies for section 179?
- Mainly tangible personal property bought for use in an active trade or business, such as machinery, equipment, furniture and vehicles, plus off-the-shelf computer software. Publication 946 also lets you elect to include qualified real property: qualified improvement property, and roofs, HVAC, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems added to nonresidential buildings. Property used 50% or less for business doesn't qualify.
- Section 179 or bonus depreciation: which comes first?
- Section 179. Publication 946 describes the special depreciation allowance as an additional deduction taken after any section 179 deduction and before regular MACRS depreciation. Section 179 is elected asset by asset and limited by business income; the allowance applies to a whole class of qualified property unless you elect out of it for that class.
- What happens to the part I can't deduct?
- It depends on which limit stops you. Cost over the dollar limit can't be expensed at all; it is depreciated instead. Cost within the dollar limit that business income doesn't cover carries over to next year (Form 4562, line 13).
- How do married couples filing separately split the limit?
- Publication 946 treats them as one taxpayer for the dollar limit and requires them to split the limit equally, unless both elect a different allocation.
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Sources
Official documents read on November 5, 2026. Vendor facts are sourced on each listing.