Eligible property may be new or used and may be leased or purchased outright.To utilize a deduction under section 179 an eligible property must be:Tangible. Physical property like computers, software, equipment, furniture, machinery, and vehicles would qualify. Intangible property such as patents does not qualify, and neither do buildings or land. However, certain improvements attached to buildings, such as security or HVAC systems do qualify.
Put into use. Eligible property must be placed into service in the year the deduction is claimed.
Not acquired from a related party. Property may not be purchased from a relative or related organization.
Used more than 50% of the time for business. If the eligible property has mixed-use, as long as the business usage is greater than 50%, the business portion is eligible for the deduction. Simply multiply the cost by the percentage of business use to arrive at the cost to be used for section 179.
Section 179 offers a fair amount of flexibility. So long as the guidelines are met, businesses may choose how much of the allowed deduction they would like to use, which eligible items they would like to use it on, and how much of the full cost they would like to deduct. This means some depreciation may be saved for future years if desired. For this reason, it's important to consult with an accountant to maximize total savings over time.