Section 179 Vehicle Deduction Calculator
The vehicle's price, its weight rating, and how much of its use is business
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- General mathematical model
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. Confirm the assumptions, current rules, fees, and rounding that apply to your situation before making a decision.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the price of the vehicle.
- 02
Enter the share of its use that will be business in the first year. It must be over 50% for Section 179 or bonus depreciation to apply at all.
- 03
Find the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) on the certification label on the driver's door jamb and enter it in pounds. It is higher than the curb weight, and it is the figure the tax rules use.
- 04
Enter your business taxable income before this deduction, which caps Section 179 but not bonus depreciation, and your marginal tax rate. The 2026 limits are filled in with their sources.
- 05
Read the first-year write-off and the tax it saves, then the table of routes: straight MACRS, Section 179 alone, Section 179 with bonus, and what would happen at 50% business use or less.
Formula
Business basis = price × business use. If business use is 50% or less: straight-line depreciation only, 10% of the basis in year one. Otherwise, Section 179 = the smallest of the basis, business taxable income, the $2,560,000 limit, and $32,000 if the vehicle is an SUV rated 6,001 to 14,000 pounds. Bonus = 100% of the basis left after Section 179. Regular MACRS takes 20% of anything still left. For a vehicle at or under 6,000 pounds the year-one total is then capped at $20,300 × business use with bonus ($12,300 × business use without). Straight MACRS for comparison = 20% of the basis, under the same cap. Tax saved = 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of the deduction + income tax at your marginal rate on the deduction less half that. Recapture if business use later falls to 50% or less = the year-one write-off − year-one straight-line depreciation.
Example
A $68,000 SUV rated 6,400 pounds GVWR, used 85% for business, bought by a sole proprietor with $150,000 of business income in the 24% bracket. The business basis is $57,800. The vehicle is over the 6,000-pound line, so the passenger caps do not apply. Section 179 is capped at $32,000 for an SUV of this weight, and 100% bonus depreciation covers the other $25,800, for a first-year write-off of $57,800 and about $21,059 of tax saved: $12,892 of income tax and $8,167 of self-employment tax. Straight MACRS would have allowed $11,560, so the write-off moves $46,240 of deductions into year one, about $16,847 of tax. Section 179 alone would give $37,160, and if this were a pickup with a six-foot bed, Section 179 alone would reach the full $57,800. If business use fell to 50% or less in a later year, $52,020 would be added back to income. At 5,900 pounds the same vehicle would be capped at a $17,255 first-year write-off.
Definitions
- GVWR
- Gross vehicle weight rating: the maximum loaded weight the manufacturer rates the vehicle for, printed on the driver's door-jamb label. The tax rules draw their 6,000- and 14,000-pound lines on it.
- Section 179
- An election to deduct the cost of business equipment in the year it is placed in service. For 2026 it is limited to $2,560,000, to business taxable income, and to $32,000 on a 6,001 to 14,000-pound SUV.
- Bonus depreciation
- An additional first-year depreciation deduction, 100% for property acquired after January 19, 2025. It has no business income limit and no SUV cap.
- Section 280F
- The limits on depreciation for passenger vehicles at or under 6,000 pounds. For 2026 the first-year cap is $20,300 with bonus and $12,300 without, scaled by business use.
- Depreciation recapture
- Giving back earlier deductions. For a vehicle it happens if business use falls to 50% or less within the recovery period, and when the vehicle is sold for more than its depreciated basis.
Good to know
The 6,000-pound line and why it exists
The rule that makes a heavy SUV so much more deductible than a sedan was written to do the opposite. In the 1980s Congress added Section 280F to stop businesses from writing off luxury cars, capping the yearly depreciation on passenger automobiles. It defined a passenger automobile partly by weight, and trucks, vans and SUVs rated above 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight fell outside the definition, because at the time vehicles that heavy were overwhelmingly work vehicles. As large SUVs and pickups became family cars, the weight line turned into the most valuable number on a business vehicle. In 2004 Congress added a separate cap on the Section 179 deduction for heavy SUVs, now indexed for inflation and set at $32,000 for tax years beginning in 2026 under Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The passenger caps are much tighter. For a vehicle at or under 6,000 pounds placed in service in 2026, Rev. Proc. 2026-15 limits first-year depreciation to $20,300 with bonus depreciation or $12,300 without, multiplied by business use, whatever the vehicle cost. On the default $68,000 vehicle at 85% business use, that is the difference between a first-year write-off of $17,255 at 5,900 pounds and $57,800 at 6,400 pounds. The number that counts is the gross vehicle weight rating, the maximum loaded weight the manufacturer rates the vehicle for, printed on the certification label on the driver's door jamb. It is not the curb weight, which is lower, and not the towing capacity. Two versions of the same model can sit on opposite sides of the line depending on engine, drivetrain or battery, so check the label on the vehicle you are buying, not a brochure for the model.
Section 179, bonus depreciation, and how they stack
Three deductions apply to a business vehicle in its first year, and they are taken in a fixed order. Section 179 comes first. It is an election to expense the cost of business property, limited for 2026 to $2,560,000 in total, reduced dollar for dollar once qualifying purchases exceed $4,090,000, under Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Two narrower limits matter more for a vehicle. On an SUV rated 6,001 to 14,000 pounds, Section 179 is capped at $32,000. And Section 179 cannot exceed the business's taxable income for the year, with any unused amount carried forward. Bonus depreciation comes second, on whatever basis Section 179 did not take. The 2025 tax law restored it to 100% and made it permanent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. It has no income limit and no SUV cap, so it can create a loss. Regular MACRS depreciation, 20% in the first year for five-year property such as vehicles, applies to anything left. On the default figures the business basis of a $68,000 SUV at 85% business use is $57,800. Section 179 takes $32,000, bonus takes the remaining $25,800, and the first-year write-off is the whole $57,800. The table shows the routes side by side. Straight MACRS alone would allow $11,560. Section 179 without bonus would allow $37,160: the $32,000 cap plus 20% of the rest. The SUV cap does not apply to a pickup whose cargo bed is at least six feet long and not reachable from the passenger compartment, to a van with no seating behind the driver and no body section more than 30 inches ahead of the windshield, or to a vehicle seating more than nine behind the driver, so for those Section 179 alone can reach the full $57,800.
The 50% test and the recapture trap
Every accelerated deduction on this page depends on one condition: the vehicle must be used more than 50% for qualified business use. In the year the vehicle is placed in service, business use at or below 50% rules out Section 179 and bonus depreciation entirely, and depreciation must be straight line. The test does not stop after year one. Vehicles are listed property, and IRS Publication 463 (2025 edition) says the more-than-50% test applies in each year of the recovery period. If business use falls to 50% or less in a later year, the excess depreciation must be recaptured: everything deducted in the years business use was above 50%, including any Section 179 and bonus depreciation, less what straight-line depreciation would have allowed, is added to income in the first year the test fails. On the default figures that exposure is $52,020, the $57,800 first-year write-off less $5,780 of straight-line depreciation, and it is taxed at ordinary rates in a year that may otherwise be unremarkable. Business use is measured in miles, so the log decides the test. Commuting between home and a regular workplace is personal use, however long the drive. A vehicle that starts life as a work truck and becomes the family's second car, or a business that slows down, can fail the test without anyone noticing until the return is prepared. Recapture also happens at sale. A vehicle is Section 1245 property, and gain up to the depreciation taken, including Section 179 and bonus, is ordinary income rather than capital gain. That is the contrast with rental real estate, where recaptured depreciation under Section 1250 is taxed at up to 25%. The large first-year write-off is therefore a promise to keep the vehicle mostly in business use and to accept ordinary tax on its value when it goes.
A write-off is a timing decision, not a discount
It is easy to read a $57,800 first-year deduction as $57,800 off the price of the vehicle. It is not. Depreciation, in any form, spreads the same basis across the vehicle's life; a larger deduction now means smaller ones later, and gain on sale gives back what the basis no longer covers. What a first-year write-off buys is time. On the default figures it moves $46,240 of deductions from later years into year one against straight MACRS, and saves about $16,847 more tax in that year. Whether that timing is worth having depends on three things this page can only partly see. The first is the tax rate in each year. The page prices the deduction at one marginal rate, 24% by default, plus self-employment tax, but a deduction large enough to push income into a lower bracket saves less than that, and one that creates a loss may save nothing until the loss is used. A deduction taken in a low-income year can be worth less than the same amount spread over higher-income years. The second is the state return. Many states do not follow federal bonus depreciation, and some limit Section 179, so the state deduction may look more like the Section 179 alone row or straight depreciation. The third is what the choice closes off. Claiming Section 179 or bonus depreciation on a vehicle means the standard mileage rate can never be used for it, which matters for a vehicle whose business miles may rise or whose costs may fall. Timing also has to match the calendar: the vehicle must be placed in service, ready and available for business use, in the tax year, and a vehicle acquired under a binding contract before January 20, 2025 gets only 20% bonus if placed in service in 2026. These figures are estimates, not tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
Which vehicles qualify for the Section 179 deduction?
Vehicles used more than 50% for business in the year they are placed in service. How much you can deduct then depends on weight. A car, SUV, truck or van rated at 6,000 pounds GVWR or less is a passenger vehicle under Section 280F and its first-year deduction is capped. An SUV rated 6,001 to 14,000 pounds faces a smaller Section 179 cap but no depreciation cap, and heavier vehicles face neither.
What is the Section 179 limit for an SUV in 2026?
$32,000 for an SUV rated 6,001 to 14,000 pounds GVWR, for tax years beginning in 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The cap does not apply to a pickup with a cargo bed at least six feet long that is not reachable from the cab, a van with no seating behind the driver and a short nose, or a vehicle seating more than nine behind the driver. Bonus depreciation has no SUV cap, so on the default $68,000 vehicle at 85% business use, Section 179 plus 100% bonus writes off the full $57,800 business basis.
What are the 2026 depreciation limits for passenger cars?
For a vehicle at or under 6,000 pounds placed in service in 2026, Rev. Proc. 2026-15 caps first-year depreciation at $20,300 with bonus depreciation or $12,300 without, then $19,800, $11,900 and $7,160 for each later year. The caps are multiplied by business use. Enter the default $68,000 vehicle at 5,900 pounds instead of 6,400, and the first-year write-off falls from $57,800 to $17,255.
Is bonus depreciation 100% in 2026?
Yes, for property acquired after January 19, 2025. The 2025 tax law restored 100% bonus depreciation and made it permanent. A vehicle acquired under a binding contract before January 20, 2025 and placed in service in 2026 gets only 20% bonus, according to Rev. Proc. 2026-15. Many states do not follow federal bonus depreciation, so a state return can differ.
What happens if business use drops to 50% or less later?
You give back the benefit. IRS Publication 463 (2025 edition) says that if business use falls to 50% or less in a later year of the recovery period, the depreciation you took above what straight-line depreciation would have allowed is added to income that year. On the default figures that excess is $52,020, the $57,800 write-off less $5,780 of straight-line depreciation.
Is a big first-year write-off always better than regular depreciation?
It is a timing choice, not a discount. On the defaults, writing off $57,800 in year one instead of $11,560 under straight MACRS moves $46,240 of deductions into this year and saves about $16,847 more tax now, but those deductions are then missing from later years. When you sell, gain up to the depreciation taken is taxed as ordinary income. A large write-off in a year your income is unusually low can save less than the same deductions spread over higher-income years.
Can I take Section 179 on a financed vehicle?
Yes. The deduction depends on the vehicle being bought and placed in service for business, not on paying cash, so a financed vehicle qualifies for its full business basis in the year it goes into service. Two cautions: claiming Section 179 or bonus depreciation closes the standard mileage rate for that vehicle permanently, and Section 179 itself cannot exceed your business taxable income. This page gives an estimate, not tax advice.