Publication 946 (2015) HOW TO DEPRECIATE PROPERTY

• Other bonus depreciation property to which section  

Qualified Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property

You can take a 50% special depreciation allowance for qualified second generation biofuel plant property (as defined in section

1. The property is used in the United States solely to produce second generation biofuel.

2. The original use of the property must begin with you after December 20, 2006.

• Property any portion of which is financed with the proceeds of any obligation the interest on which is exempt from tax under section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code.

• Property for which you elected not to claim any special depreciation allowance (discussed later).

• Property for which a deduction was taken under section 179C for certain qualified refinery property.

• Other bonus depreciation property to which section  

Certain Qualified Property Acquired After December 31, 2007, and Placed in Service Before January 1, 2016

You can take a 50% special depreciation deduction allowance for certain qualified property acquired after December 31, 2007, and placed in service before January 1, 2016. Your property is qualified property if it meets the following requirements.

However, a qualified leasehold improvement does not include any improvement for which the expenditure is attributable to any of the following.

Generally, a binding commitment to enter into a lease is treated as a lease and the parties to the commitment are treated as the lessor and lessee. However, a lease between related persons is not treated as a lease.

Related persons. For this purpose, the following are related persons.

To be qualified property, long production period property must meet the following requirements.

To be qualified property, noncommercial aircraft must meet the following requirements.

Sale-leaseback. If you sold qualified property you placed in service after December 31, 2007, and leased it back within 3 months after you originally placed in service, the property is treated as originally placed in service no earlier than the date it is used by you under the leaseback.

The property will not qualify for the special depreciation allowance if the lessee or a related person to the lessee or lessor had a written binding contract in effect for the acquisition of the property before January 1, 2008.

Syndicated leasing transactions. If qualified property is originally placed in service by a lessor after December 31, 2007, the property is sold within 3 months of the date it was placed in service, and the user of the property does not change, then the property is treated as originally placed in service by the taxpayer no earlier than the date of the last sale.

Multiple units of property subject to the same lease will be treated as originally placed in service no earlier than the date of the last sale if the property is sold within 3 months after the final unit is placed in service and the period between the time the first and last units are placed in service does not exceed 12 months.

Excepted Property

Qualified property does not include any of the following.

An election to claim pre-2006 unused minimum tax credits in lieu of claiming the special depreciation allowance made by a corporation for either its first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, its first tax year ending after December 31, 2008, its first tax year ending after December 31, 2010, or for its first tax year ending after December 31, 2012, continues to apply to round 4 extension property (as defined in section 168(k)(4) election to round 4 extension property for its first taxyear ending after December 31, 2013. If a corporation did not make a section 168(k)(4)(L)), unless the corporation makes an election not to apply the section 168(k)(4) election for either its first tax year ending after March 31, 2008, its first tax year ending after December 31, 2010, its first tax year ending after December 31, 2012 or its first tax year ending after December 31, 2013, the corporation may elect for its first tax year ending after December 31, 2014, to claim pre-2006 unused minimum tax credits in lieu of the special depreciation property for only round 5 extension property.

If you make an election to accelerate these credits in lieu of claiming the special depreciation allowance for eligible property, you must not take the 50% special depreciation allowance for the property and must depreciate the basis in the property under MACRS using the straight line method. See Which Depreciation Method Applies in chapter 4.

Once made, the election cannot be revoked without IRS consent.

Additional guidance. For additional guidance on the election to accelerate the minimum tax credit in lieu of claiming the special depreciation allowance, see Form 8827, Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax -- Corporations, and related instructions.

Additional guidance regarding the election to accelerate the minimum tax credit in lieu of claiming the special depreciation allowance for round 5 extension property may also be available in later Internal Revenue Bulletins available at http://www.irs.gov/irb.

How Much Can You Deduct?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

Figure the special depreciation allowance by multiplying the depreciable basis of qualified reuse and recycling property, qualified second generation biofuel plant property, and certain qualified property acquired after December 31, 2007, and placed in service before January 1, 2016, by 50%.

For qualified property other than listed property, enter the special allowance on Form 4562, Part II, line 14. For qualified property that is listed property, enter the special allowance on Form 4562, Part V, line 25.

TIP: If you place qualified property in service in a short tax year, you can take the full amount of a special depreciation allowance.

Depreciable basis. This is the property's cost or other basis multiplied by the percentage of business/investment use, reduced by the total amount of any credits and deductions allocable to the property.

The following are examples of some credits and deductions that reduce depreciable basis.

For additional credits and deductions that affect basis, see section

of the Internal Revenue Code.

For information about how to determine the cost or other basis of property, see What Is the Basis of Your Depreciable Property in chapter 1. For a discussion of business/investment use, see Partial business or investment use under Property Used in Your Business or Income-Producing Activity in chapter 1.

Depreciating the remaining cost. After you figure your special depreciation allowance for your qualified property, you can use the remaining cost to figure your regular MACRS depreciation deduction (discussed in chapter 4). Therefore, you must reduce the depreciable basis of the property by the special depreciation allowance before figuring your regular MACRS depreciation deduction.

Example. On November 1, 2015, Tom Brown bought and placed in service in his business qualified property that cost $450,000. He did not elect to claim a section 179 deduction. He deducts 50% of the cost ($225,000) as a special depreciation allowance for 2015. He uses the remaining $225,000 of cost to figure his regular MACRS depreciation deduction for 2015 and later years.

Like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions. If you acquire qualified property in a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion, the carryover basis of the acquired property is eligible for a special depreciation allowance. After you figure your special allowance, you can use the remaining carryover basis to figure your regular MACRS depreciation deduction. In the year you claim the allowance (the year you place in service the property received in the exchange or dispose of involuntarily converted property), you must reduce the carryover basis of the property by the allowance before figuring your regular MACRS depreciation deduction. See Figuring the Deduction for Property Acquired in a Nontaxable Exchange, in chapter 4 under How Is the Depreciation Deduction Figured. The excess basis (the part of the acquired property's basis that exceeds its carryover basis) is also eligible for a special depreciation allowance.

How Can You Elect Not To Claim an Allowance?

You can elect, for any class of property, not to deduct any special depreciation allowances for all property in such class placed in service during the tax year.

To make an election, attach a statement to your return indicating what election you are making and the class of property for which you are making the election.

The election must be made separately by each person owning qualified property (for example, by the partnerships, by the S corporation, or for each member of a consolidated group by the common parent of the group).

When to make election. Generally, you must make the election on a timely filed tax return (including extensions) for the year in which you place the property in service.

However, if you timely filed your return for the year without making the election, you can still make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the original return (not including extensions). Attach the election statement to the amended return. On the amended return, write "Filed pursuant to section

Revoking an election. Once you elect not to deduct a special depreciation allowance for a class of property, you cannot revoke the election without IRS consent. A request to revoke the election is a request for a letter ruling.

Recapture of allowance deducted for qualified GO Zone property. If, in any year after the year you claim the special depreciation allowance for qualified GO Zone property (including specified GO Zone extension property), the property ceases to be used in the GO Zone, you may have to recapture as ordinary income the excess benefit you received from claiming the special depreciation allowance. For additional guidance, see Notice 2008-25 on page 484 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-9 available at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2008-09_IRB/index.html.

Qualified cellulosic biomass ethanol plant property, qualified cellulosic biofuel plant property, and qualified second generation biofuel plant property. If, in any year after the year you claim the special depreciation allowance for any qualified cellulosic biomass ethanol plant property, qualified cellulosic biofuel plant property, or qualified second generation biofuel plant property, the property ceases to be qualified cellulosic biomass ethanol plant property, qualified cellulosic biofuel plant property, or qualified second generation biofuel plant property, you may have to recapture as ordinary income the excess benefit you received from claiming the special depreciation allowance.

Recapture of allowance for qualified Recovery Assistance property. If, in any year after the year you claim the special depreciation allowance for qualified Recovery Assistance property, the property ceases to be used in the Kansas disaster area, you may have to recapture as ordinary income the excess benefit you received from claiming the special depreciation allowance. For additional guidance, see Notice 2008-67 on page 307 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-32, available at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2008-32_IRB/index.html.

Recapture of allowance for qualified disaster assistance property. If, in any year after the year you claim the special depreciation allowance for qualified disaster assistance property, the property ceases to be used in the applicable disaster area, you may have to recapture as ordinary income the excess benefit you received from claiming the special depreciation allowance.

4. Figuring Depreciation Under MACRS

Introduction

The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) is used to recover the basis of most business and investment property placed in service after 1986. MACRS consists of two depreciation systems, the General Depreciation System (GDS) and the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS). Generally, these systems provide different methods and recovery periods to use in figuring depreciation deductions.

CAUTION: To be sure you can use MACRS to figure depreciation for your property, see What Method Can You Use To Depreciate Your Property in chapter 1.

This chapter explains how to determine which MACRS depreciation system applies to your property. It also discusses other information you need to know before you can figure depreciation under MACRS. This information includes the property's recovery class, placed in service date, and basis, as well as the applicable recovery period, convention, and depreciation method. It explains how to use this information to figure your depreciation deduction and how to use a general asset account to depreciate a group of properties. Finally, it explains when and how to recapture MACRS depreciation.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

See chapter 6 for information about getting publications and forms.

Which Depreciation System (GDS or ADS) Applies?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

Your use of either the General Depreciation System (GDS) or the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS) to depreciate property under MACRS determines what depreciation method and recovery period you use. You generally must use GDS unless you are specifically required by law to use ADS or you elect to use ADS.

If you placed your property in service in 2015, complete Part III of Form 4562 to report depreciation using MACRS. Complete section B of Part III to report depreciation using GDS, and complete section C of Part III to report depreciation using ADS. If you placed your property in service before 2015 and are required to file Form 4562, report depreciation using either GDS or ADS on line 17 in Part III.

Required use of ADS. You must use ADS for the following property.

Electing ADS. Although your property may qualify for GDS, you can elect to use ADS. The election generally must cover all property in the same property class that you placed in service during the year. However, the election for residential rental property and nonresidential real property can be made on a property-by-property basis. Once you make this election, you can never revoke it.

You make the election by completing Form 4562, Part III, line 20.

Which Property Class Applies Under GDS?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

The following is a list of the nine property classifications under GDS and examples of the types of property included in each class. These property classes are also listed under column (a) in section B, Part III, of Form 4562. For detailed information on property classes, see Appendix B, Table of Class Lives and Recovery Periods, in this publication.

Qualified rent-to-own property is property held by a rent-to-own dealer for purposes of being subject to a rent-to-own contract. It is tangible personal property generally used in the home for personal use. It includes computers and peripheral equipment, televisions, videocassette recorders, stereos, camcorders, appliances, furniture, washing machines and dryers, refrigerators, and other similar consumer durable property. Consumer durable property does not include real property, aircraft, boats, motor vehicles, or trailers.

If some of the property you rent to others under a rent-to-own agreement is of a type that may be used by the renters for either personal or business purposes, you still can treat this property as qualified property as long as it does not represent a significant portion of your leasing property. However, if this dual-use property does represent a significant portion of your leasing property, you must prove that this property is qualified rent-to-own property.

Rent-to-own dealer. You are a rent-to-own dealer if you meet all the following requirements.

This is any lease for the use of consumer property between a rent-to-own dealer and a customer who is an individual which--

This is a racing track facility permanently situated on land that hosts one or more racing events for automobiles, trucks, or motorcycles during the 36-month period after the first day of the month in which the facility is placed in service. The events must be open to the public for the price of admission.

Qualified smart electric grid system. A qualified smart electric grid system means any smart grid property used as part of a system for electric distribution grid communications, monitoring, and management placed in service after October 3, 2008, by a taxpayer who is a supplier of electrical energy or a provider of electrical energy services. Smart grid property includes electronics and related equipment that is capable of:

Real property is a retail motor fuels outlet if it is used to a substantial extent in the retail marketing of petroleum or petroleum products (whether or not it is also used to sell food or other convenience items) and meets any one of the following three tests.

A retail motor fuels outlet does not include any facility related to petroleum and natural gas trunk pipelines.

Qualified leasehold improvement property. Generally, this is any improvement to an interior part of a building that is nonresidential real property, provided all of the requirements discussed in chapter 3 under Qualified leasehold improvement property are met.

In addition, an improvement made by the lessor does not qualify as qualified leasehold improvement property to any subsequent owner unless it is acquired from the original lessor by reason of the lessor's death or in any of the following types of transactions.

Qualified restaurant property is any section

property that is a building, or an improvement to a building, placed in service after December 31, 2008. Also, more than 50% of the building's square footage must be devoted to preparation of meals and seating for on-premises consumption of prepared meals.

Qualified smart electric meter. A qualified smart electric meter is any time-based meter and related communication equipment which is placed in service by a supplier of electric energy or a provider of electric energy services and which is capable of being used by you as part of a system that:

Any natural gas gathering line placed in service after April 11, 2005, is treated as 7-year property, and electric transmission property (that is section

property) used in the transmission at 69 or more kilovolts of electricity and any natural gas distribution line placed in service after April 11, 2005, are treated as 15-year property, if the following requirements are met.

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

You begin to claim depreciation when your property is placed in service for either use in a trade or business or the production of income. The placed in service date for your property is the date the property is ready and available for a specific use. It is therefore not necessarily the date it is first used. If you converted property held for personal use to use in a trade or business or for the production of income, treat the property as being placed in service on the conversion date. See

under

in chapter 1 for examples illustrating when property is placed in service.

What Is the Basis for Depreciation?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

The basis for depreciation of MACRS property is the property's cost or other basis multiplied by the percentage of business/investment use. For a discussion of business/investment use, see

under

in chapter 1. Reduce that amount by any credits and deductions allocable to the property. The following are examples of some credits and deductions that reduce basis.

For additional credits and deductions that affect basis, see section

of the Internal Revenue Code.

Enter the basis for depreciation under column (c) in Part III of Form 4562. For information about how to determine the cost or other basis of property, see What Is the Basis of Your Depreciable Property in chapter 1.

Which Recovery Period Applies?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

The recovery period of property is the number of years over which you recover its cost or other basis. It is determined based on the depreciation system (GDS or ADS) used.

Recovery Periods Under GDS

Under GDS, property that is not qualified Indian reservation property is depreciated over one of the following recovery periods.

 Property Class                        Recovery Period

 3-year property                           3 years

¹

 5-year property                           5 years

 7-year property                           7 years

 10-year property                         10 years

 15-year property                         15 years

²

 20-year property                         20 years

 25-year property                         25 years

³

 Residential rental property                  27.5

                                             years

 Nonresidential real property             39 years

⁴

¹

 5 years for qualified rent-to-own property placed

 in service before August 6, 1997.

²

 39 years for property that is a retail motor fuels

 outlet placed in service before August 20, 1996 (31.5

 years if placed in service before May 13, 1993),

 unless you elected to depreciate it over 15 years.

³

 20 years for property placed in service before June

 13, 1996, or under a binding contract in effect

 before June 10, 1996.

⁴

 31.5 years for property placed in service before

 May 13, 1993 (or before January 1, 1994, if the

 purchase or construction of the property is under a

 binding contract in effect before May 13, 1993, or if

 construction began before May 13, 1993).

 =====================================================

The GDS recovery periods for property not listed above can be found in Appendix B,

Residential rental property and nonresidential real property are defined earlier under

Enter the appropriate recovery period on Form 4562 under column (d) in section B of Part III, unless already shown (for 25-year property, residential rental property, and nonresidential real property).

Office in the home. If your home is a personal-use single family residence and you begin to use part of your home as an office, depreciate that part of your home as nonresidential real property over 39 years (31.5 years if you began using it for business before May 13, 1993). However, if your home is an apartment in an apartment building that you own and the building is residential rental property as defined earlier under Which Depreciation System (GDS or ADS) Applies, depreciate the part used as an office as residential rental property over 27.5 years. See Publication 587 for a discussion of the tests you must meet to claim expenses, including depreciation, for the business use of your home.

Home changed to rental use. If you begin to rent a home that was your personal home before 1987, you depreciate it as residential rental property over 27.5 years.

Indian Reservation Property

The recovery periods for qualified property you placed in service on an Indian reservation after 1993 and before 2017 are shorter than those listed earlier. The following table shows these shorter recovery periods.

                                           Recovery

Property Class

Period

 3-year property                            2 years

 5-year property                            3 years

 7-year property                            4 years

 10-year property                           6 years

 15-year property                           9 years

 20-year property                          12 years

 Nonresidential real property              22 years

Nonresidential real property is defined earlier under

Use this chart to find the correct percentage table to use for qualified Indian reservation property.

 --------------------------------------------------------------

THEN

 use the following table in

IF

 your recovery period is:  Appendix A:

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 2 years                        A-21

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 3 years                        A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, or A-5

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 4 years                        A-22

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 6 years                        A-23

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 9 years                        A-14, A-15, A-16, A-17, or A-18

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 12 years                       A-14, A-15, A-16, A-17, or A-18

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 22 years                       A-24

 --------------------------------------------------------------

Property eligible for the shorter recovery periods are 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year property and nonresidential real property. You must use this property predominantly in the active conduct of a trade or business within an Indian reservation. The rental of real property that is located on an Indian reservation is treated as the active conduct of a trade or business within an Indian reservation.

The following property is not qualified property.

You can make an election out of all qualified Indian reservation property in a class of property that is placed in service in a tax year beginning after December 31, 2015. Once made, this election is irrevocable.

Qualified infrastructure property. Item (1) above does not apply to qualified infrastructure property located outside the reservation that is used to connect with qualified infrastructure property within the reservation. Qualified infrastructure property is property that meets all the following rules.

Infrastructure property includes, but is not limited to, roads, power lines, water systems, railroad spurs, and communications facilities.

Related person. For purposes of item (2) above, see Related persons in the discussion on property owned or used in 1986 under What Method Can You Use To Depreciate Your Property in chapter 1 for a description of related persons.

Indian reservation. The term Indian reservation means a reservation as defined in section 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452(d)) or section 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 defines reservation to include former Indian reservations in Oklahoma. For a definition of the term "former Indian reservations in Oklahoma," see Notice 98-45 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-35.

Recovery Periods Under ADS

The recovery periods for most property generally are longer under ADS than they are under GDS. The following table shows some of the ADS recovery periods.

                                              Recovery

Property

Period

 Rent-to-own property                          4 years

 Automobiles and light duty trucks             5 years

 Computers and peripheral equipment            5 years

 High technology telephone station

  equipment installed on customer

  premises                                     5 years

 High technology medical equipment             5 years

 Personal property with no class life         12 years

 Natural gas gathering lines                  14 years

 Single purpose agricultural and

  horticultural structures                    15 years

 Any tree or vine bearing fruit or nuts       20 years

 Initial clearing and grading land

 improvements for gas utility property        20 years

 Initial clearing and grading land

  improvements for electric utility

  transmission and distribution plants        25 years

 Electric transmission property used in the

  transmission at 69 or more kilovolts of

  electricity                                 30 years

 Natural gas distribution lines               35 years

 Any qualified leasehold improvement

  property                                    39 years

 Any qualified restaurant property            39 years

 Nonresidential real property                 40 years

 Residential rental property                  40 years

 Section 1245 real property not listed in

  Appendix B                                  40 years

 Railroad grading and tunnel bore             50 years

The ADS recovery periods for property not listed above can be found in the tables in Appendix B. Rent-to-own property, qualified leasehold improvement property, qualified restaurant property, residential rental property, and nonresidential real property are defined earlier under

Tax-exempt use property subject to a lease. The ADS recovery period for any property leased under a lease agreement to a tax-exempt organization, governmental unit, or foreign person or entity (other than a partnership) cannot be less than 125% of the lease term.

Additions and Improvements

An addition or improvement you make to depreciable property is treated as separate depreciable property. See How Do You Treat Repairs and Improvements in chapter 1 for a definition of improvements. Its property class and recovery period are the same as those that would apply to the original property if you had placed it in service at the same time you placed the addition or improvement in service. The recovery period begins on the later of the following dates.

Example. You own a rental home that you have been renting out since 1981. If you put an addition on the home and place the addition in service this year, you would use MACRS to figure your depreciation deduction for the addition. Under GDS, the property class for the addition is residential rental property and its recovery period is 27.5 years because the home to which the addition is made would be residential rental property if you had placed it in service this year.

Which Convention Applies?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

Under MACRS, averaging conventions establish when the recovery period begins and ends. The convention you use determines the number of months for which you can claim depreciation in the year you place property in service and in the year you dispose of the property.

The mid-month convention. Use this convention for nonresidential real property, residential rental property, and any railroad grading or tunnel bore.

Under this convention, you treat all property placed in service or disposed of during a month as placed in service or disposed of at the midpoint of the month. This means that a one-half month of depreciation is allowed for the month the property is placed in service or disposed of.

Your use of the mid-month convention is indicated by the "MM" already shown under column (e) in Part III of Form 4562.

The mid-quarter convention. Use this convention if the mid-month convention does not apply and the total depreciable bases of MACRS property you placed in service during the last 3 months of the tax year (excluding nonresidential real property, residential rental property, any railroad grading or tunnel bore, property placed in service and disposed of in the same year, and property that is being depreciated under a method other than MACRS) are more than 40% of the total depreciable bases of all MACRS property you placed in service during the entire year.

Under this convention, you treat all property placed in service or disposed of during any quarter of the tax year as placed in service or disposed of at the midpoint of that quarter. This means that 1 1/2 months of depreciation is allowed for the quarter the property is placed in service or disposed of.

If you use this convention, enter "MQ" under column (e) in Part III of Form 4562.

CAUTION: For purposes of determining whether the mid-quarter convention applies, the depreciable basis of property you placed in service during the tax year reflects the reduction in basis for amounts expensed under section 179 and the part of the basis of property attributable to personal use. However, it does not reflect any reduction in basis for any special depreciation allowance.

The half-year convention. Use this convention if neither the mid-quarter convention nor the mid-month convention applies.

Under this convention, you treat all property placed in service or disposed of during a tax year as placed in service or disposed of at the midpoint of the year. This means that a one-half year of depreciation is allowed for the year the property is placed in service or disposed of.

If you use this convention, enter "HY" under column (e) in Part III of Form 4562.

Which Depreciation Method Applies?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

MACRS provides three depreciation methods under GDS and one depreciation method under ADS.

Table 4-1 lists the types of property you can depreciate under each method. It also gives a brief explanation of the method, including any benefits that may apply.

Depreciation Methods for Farm Property

If you place personal property in service in a farming business after 1988, you generally must depreciate it under GDS using the 150% declining balance method unless you are a farmer who must depreciate the property under ADS using the straight line method or you elect to depreciate the property under GDS or ADS using the straight line method. You can depreciate real property using the straight line method under either GDS or ADS.

Fruit or nut trees and vines. Depreciate trees and vines bearing fruit or nuts under GDS using the straight line method over a recovery period of 10 years.

ADS required for some farmers. If you elect not to apply the uniform capitalization rules to any plant produced in your farming business, you must use ADS. You must use ADS for all property you place in service in any year the election is in effect. See the regulations under section 263A of the Internal Revenue Code for information on the uniform capitalization rules that apply to farm property.

Electing a Different Method

As shown in Table 4-1, you can elect a different method for depreciation for certain types of property. You must make the election by the due date of the return (including extensions) for the year you placed the property in service. However, if you timely filed your return for the year without making the election, you still can make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Attach the election to the amended return and write "Filed pursuant to section

CAUTION: If you elect to use a different method for one item in a property class, you must apply the same method to all property in that class placed in service during the year of the election. However, you can make the election on a property-by-property basis for nonresidential real and residential rental property.

 of the Internal Revenue Code.

³

 See section

 of the Internal Revenue Code.

⁴

 See section

 of the Internal Revenue Code.

 ======================================================================

As explained earlier under

you can elect to use ADS even though your property may come under GDS. ADS uses the straight line method of depreciation over fixed ADS recovery periods. Most ADS recovery periods are listed in Appendix B, or see the table under

earlier.

Make the election by completing line 20 in Part III of Form 4562.

Farm property. Instead of using the 150% declining balance method over a GDS recovery period for property you use in a farming business (other than real property), you can elect to depreciate it using either of the following methods.

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

To figure your depreciation deduction under MACRS, you first determine the depreciation system, property class, placed in service date, basis amount, recovery period, convention, and depreciation method that applies to your property. Then, you are ready to figure your depreciation deduction. You can figure it using a percentage table provided by the IRS, or you can figure it yourself without using the table.

Using the MACRS Percentage Tables

To help you figure your deduction under MACRS, the IRS has established percentage tables that incorporate the applicable convention and depreciation method. These percentage tables are in Appendix A near the end of this publication.

Which table to use. Appendix A contains the MACRS Percentage Table Guide, which is designed to help you locate the correct percentage table to use for depreciating your property. The percentage tables immediately follow the guide.

Rules Covering the Use of the Tables

The following rules cover the use of the percentage tables.

Basis adjustments other than those made due to the items listed in (4) include an increase in basis for the recapture of a clean-fuel deduction or credit and a reduction in basis for a casualty loss.

Basis adjustment due to recapture of clean-fuel vehicle deduction or credit. If you increase the basis of your property because of the recapture of part or all of a deduction for clean-fuel vehicles or the credit for clean-fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service before January 1, 2006, you cannot continue to use the percentage tables. For the year of the adjustment and the remaining recovery period, you must figure the depreciation deduction yourself using the property's adjusted basis at the end of the year. See Figuring the Deduction Without Using the Tables, later.

Basis adjustment due to casualty loss. If you reduce the basis of your property because of a casualty, you cannot continue to use the percentage tables. For the year of the adjustment and the remaining recovery period, you must figure the depreciation yourself using the property's adjusted basis at the end of the year. See Figuring the Deduction Without Using the Tables, later.

Example. On October 26, 2014, Sandra Elm, a calendar year taxpayer, bought and placed in service in her business a new item of 7-year property. It cost $39,000 and she elected a section 179 deduction of $24,000. She also took a special depreciation allowance of $7,500 [50% of $15,000 ($39,000 - $24,000)]. Her unadjusted basis after the section 179 deduction and special depreciation allowance was $7,500 ($15,000 - $7,500). She figured her MACRS depreciation deduction using the percentage tables. For 2014, her MACRS depreciation deduction was $268.

In July 2015, the property was vandalized and Sandra had a deductible casualty loss of $3,000. She must adjust the property's basis for the casualty loss, so she can no longer use the percentage tables. Her adjusted basis at the end of 2015, before figuring her 2015 depreciation, is $4,232. She figures that amount by subtracting the 2014 MACRS depreciation of $268 and the casualty loss of $3,000 from the unadjusted basis of $7,500. She must now figure her depreciation for 2015 without using the percentage tables.

Figuring the Unadjusted Basis of Your Property

You must apply the table rates to your property's unadjusted basis each year of the recovery period. Unadjusted basis is the same basis amount you would use to figure gain on a sale, but you figure it without reducing your original basis by any MACRS depreciation taken in earlier years. However, you do reduce your original basis by other amounts, including the following.

For business property you purchase during the year, the unadjusted basis is its cost minus these and other applicable adjustments. If you trade property, your unadjusted basis in the property received is the cash paid plus the adjusted basis of the property traded minus these adjustments.

MACRS Worksheet

You can use this worksheet to help you figure your depreciation deduction using the percentage tables. Use a separate worksheet for each item of property. Then, use the information from this worksheet to prepare Form 4562.

CAUTION: Do not use this worksheet for automobiles. Use the Depreciation Worksheet for Passenger Automobiles in chapter 5.

                          MACRS Worksheet

Keep for Your Records

 -------------------------------------------------------------------

Part I

  1. MACRS system (GDS or

     ADS)                                         __________________

  2. Property class                               __________________

  3. Date placed in service                       __________________

  4. Recovery period                              __________________

  5. Method and convention                        __________________

  6. Depreciation rate (from

     tables)                                      __________________

Part II

  7. Cost or other basis*                        

$      

  8. Business/investment use                      

       %

  9. Multiply line 7 by line 8                              

$      

 10. Total claimed for section

 deduction

     and other items                                        

$      

 11. Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is your

     tentative basis for depreciation                      

$      

 12. Multiply line 11 by .50 if the 50% special

     depreciation allowance applies. This is

     your special depreciation allowance.

     Enter -0- if this is not the year you placed

     the property in service, the property is not

     qualified property, or you elected not to

     claim a special allowance                              

$      

 13. Subtract line 12 from line 11. This is your

     basis for depreciation                                 ________

 14. Depreciation rate (from line 6)                        ________

 15. Multiply line 13 by line 14. This is your

     MACRS depreciation deduction                           $

                                                            ========

 -------------------------------------------------------------------

 * If real estate, do not include cost (basis) of land.

 ===================================================================

The following example shows how to figure your MACRS depreciation deduction using the percentage tables and the MACRS Worksheet.

Example. You bought office furniture (7-year property) for $10,000 and placed it in service on August 11, 2015. You use the furniture only for business. This is the only property you placed in service this year. You did not elect a section 179 deduction and the property is not qualified property for purposes of claiming a special depreciation allowance so your property's unadjusted basis is its cost, $10,000. You use GDS and the half-year convention to figure your depreciation. You refer to the MACRS Percentage Table Guide in Appendix A and find that you should use Table A-1. Multiply your property's unadjusted basis each year by the percentage for 7-year property given in Table A-1. You figure your depreciation deduction using the MACRS Worksheet as follows.

                          MACRS Worksheet

Keep for Your Records

 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Part I

  1. MACRS system (GDS or ADS)                  

             GDS

  2. Property class                              

          7-year

  3. Date placed in service                      

         8/11/15

  4. Recovery period                            

          7-Year

  5. Method and convention                      

200%DB/Half-Year

  6. Depreciation rate (from tables)            

           .1429

Part II

  7. Cost or other basis*                      

$10,000

  8. Business/investment use

   100%

  9. Multiply line 7 by line 8                          

 $10,000

 10. Total claimed for section

     deduction and other items                          

     -0-

 11. Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is

     your tentative basis for depreciation              

 $10,000

 12. Multiply line 11 by .50 if the 50%

     special depreciation allowance

     applies. This is your special

     depreciation allowance. Enter -0- if

     this is not the year you placed the

     property in service, the property is not

     qualified property, or you elected not

     to claim a special allowance                        

     -0-

 13. Subtract line 12 from line 11. This is

     your basis for depreciation                        

 $10,000

 14. Depreciation rate (from line 6)                    

   .1429

 15. Multiply line 13 by line 14. This is your

     MACRS depreciation deduction                          $1,429

                                                         ========

 ----------------------------------------------------------------

 * If real estate, do not include cost (basis) of land.

 ================================================================

If there are no adjustments to the basis of the property other than depreciation, your depreciation deduction for each subsequent year of the recovery period will be as follows.

 Year        Basis       Percentage     Deduction

 2016       $10,000        24.49%       $2,449

 2017        10,000        17.49         1,749

 2018        10,000        12.49         1,249

 2019        10,000         8.93           893

 2020        10,000         8.92           892

 2021        10,000         8.93           893

 2022        10,000         4.46           446

The following examples are provided to show you how to use the percentage tables. In both examples, assume the following.

You bought a building and land for $120,000 and placed it in service on March 8. The sales contract showed that the building cost $100,000 and the land cost $20,000. It is nonresidential real property. The building's unadjusted basis is its original cost, $100,000.

You refer to the MACRS Percentage Table Guide in Appendix A and find that you should use Table A-7a. March is the third month of your tax year, so multiply the building's unadjusted basis, $100,000, by the percentages for the third month in Table A-7a. Your depreciation deduction for each of the first 3 years is as follows:

 Year       Basis       Percentage      Deduction

 1st       $100,000       2.033%        $2,033

 2nd        100,000       2.564          2,564

 3rd        100,000       2.564          2,564

During the year, you bought a machine (7-year property) for $4,000, office furniture (7-year property) for $1,000, and a computer (5-year property) for $5,000. You placed the machine in service in January, the furniture in September, and the computer in October. You do not elect a section

deduction and none of these items is qualified property for purposes of claiming a special depreciation allowance.

You placed property in service during the last 3 months of the year, so you must first determine if you have to use the mid-quarter convention. The total bases of all property you placed in service during the year is $10,000. The $5,000 basis of the computer, which you placed in service during the last 3 months (the fourth quarter) of your tax year, is more than 40% of the total bases of all property ($10,000) you placed in service during the year. Therefore, you must use the mid-quarter convention for all three items.

You refer to the MACRS Percentage Table Guide in Appendix A to determine which table you should use under the mid-quarter convention. The machine is 7-year property placed in service in the first quarter, so you use Table A-2. The furniture is 7-year property placed in service in the third quarter, so you use Table A-4. Finally, because the computer is 5-year property placed in service in the fourth quarter, you use Table A-6. Knowing what table to use for each property, you figure the depreciation for the first 2 years as follows.

 -----------------------------------------------------------

Year     Property      Basis       Percentage     Deduction

 -----------------------------------------------------------

 1st      Machine       $4,000         25.00         $1,000

 2nd      Machine        4,000         21.43            857

 -----------------------------------------------------------

 1st      Furniture      1,000         10.71            107

 2nd      Furniture      1,000         25.51            255

 -----------------------------------------------------------

 1st      Computer       5,000          5.00            250

 2nd      Computer       5,000         38.00          1,900

 -----------------------------------------------------------

If you sell or otherwise dispose of your property before the end of its recovery period, your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition will be only part of the depreciation amount for the full year. You have disposed of your property if you have permanently withdrawn it from use in your business or income-producing activity because of its sale, exchange, retirement, abandonment, involuntary conversion, or destruction. After you figure the full-year depreciation amount, figure the deductible part using the convention that applies to the property.

Half-year convention used. For property for which you used a half-year convention, the depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition is half the depreciation determined for the full year.

Mid-quarter convention used. For property for which you used the mid-quarter convention, figure your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition by multiplying a full year of depreciation by the percentage listed below for the quarter in which you disposed of the property.

 Quarter                Percentage

 First                       12.5%

 Second                      37.5

 Third                       62.5

 Fourth                      87.5

On December 2, 2012, you placed in service an item of 5-year property costing $10,000. You did not claim a section

deduction and the property does not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. Your unadjusted basis for the property was $10,000. You used the mid-quarter convention because this was the only item of business property you placed in service in 2012 and it was placed in service during the last 3 months of your tax year. Your property is in the 5-year property class, so you used Table A-5 to figure your depreciation deduction. Your deductions for 2012, 2013, and 2014 were $500 (5% of $10,000), $3,800 (38% of $10,000), and $2,280 (22.80% of $10,000). You disposed of the property on April 6, 2015. To determine your depreciation deduction for 2015, first figure the deduction for the full year. This is $1,368 (13.68% of $10,000). April is in the second quarter of the year, so you multiply $1,368 by 37.5% to get your depreciation deduction of $513 for 2015.

Mid-month convention used. If you dispose of residential rental or nonresidential real property, figure your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition by multiplying a full year of depreciation by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of months (including partial months) in the year that the property is considered in service. The denominator is 12.

Example. On July 2, 2013, you purchased and placed in service residential rental property. The property cost $100,000, not including the cost of land. You used Table A-6 to figure your MACRS depreciation for this property. You sold the property on March 2, 2015. You file your tax return based on the calendar year.

A full year of depreciation for 2015 is $3,636. This is $100,000 multiplied by .03636 (the percentage for the seventh month of the third recovery year) from Table A-6. You then apply the mid-month convention for the 2 1/2 months of use in 2015. Treat the month of disposition as one-half month of use. Multiply $3,636 by the fraction, 2.5 over 12, to get your 2015 depreciation deduction of $757.50.

Figuring the Deduction Without Using the Tables

Instead of using the rates in the percentage tables to figure your depreciation deduction, you can figure it yourself. Before making the computation each year, you must reduce your adjusted basis in the property by the depreciation claimed the previous year.

CAUTION: Figuring MACRS deductions without using the tables generally will result in a slightly different amount than using the tables.

Declining Balance Method

When using a declining balance method, you apply the same depreciation rate each year to the adjusted basis of your property. You must use the applicable convention for the first tax year and you must switch to the straight line method beginning in the first year for which it will give an equal or greater deduction. The straight line method is explained later.

You figure depreciation for the year you place property in service as follows.

You figure depreciation for all other years (before the year you switch to the straight line method) as follows.

If you dispose of property before the end of its recovery period, see

, later, for information on how to figure depreciation for the year you dispose of it.

Figuring depreciation under the declining balance method and switching to the straight line method is illustrated in Example 1, later, under Examples.

Declining balance rate. You figure your declining balance rate by dividing the specified declining balance percentage (150% or 200% changed to a decimal) by the number of years in the property's recovery period. For example, for 3-year property depreciated using the 200% declining balance method, divide 2.00 (200%) by 3 to get 0.6667, or a 66.67% declining balance rate. For 15-year property depreciated using the 150% declining balance method, divide 1.50 (150%) by 15 to get 0.10, or a 10% declining balance rate.

The following table shows the declining balance rate for each property class and the first year for which the straight line method gives an equal or greater deduction.

 -----------------------------------------------------

Property                 Declining Balance

 Class         Method           Rate           Year

 -----------------------------------------------------

 3-year        200% DB              66.667%    3rd

 -----------------------------------------------------

 5-year        200% DB              40.0       4th

 -----------------------------------------------------

 7-year        200% DB              28.571     5th

 -----------------------------------------------------

 10-year       200% DB              20.0       7th

 -----------------------------------------------------

 15-year       150% DB              10.0       7th

 -----------------------------------------------------

 20-year       150% DB               7.5       9th

 -----------------------------------------------------

When using the straight line method, you apply a different depreciation rate each year to the adjusted basis of your property. You must use the applicable convention in the year you place the property in service and the year you dispose of the property.

You figure depreciation for the year you place property in service as follows.

You figure depreciation for all other years (including the year you switch from the declining balance method to the straight line method) as follows.

If you dispose of property before the end of its recovery period, see

, later, for information on how to figure depreciation for the year you dispose of it.

Straight line rate. You determine the straight line depreciation rate for any tax year by dividing the number 1 by the years remaining in the recovery period at the beginning of that year. When figuring the number of years remaining, you must take into account the convention used in the year you placed the property in service. If the number of years remaining is less than 1, the depreciation rate for that tax year is 1.0 (100%).

Using the Applicable Convention

The applicable convention (discussed earlier under Which Convention Applies) affects how you figure your depreciation deduction for the year you place your property in service and for the year you dispose of it. It determines how much of the recovery period remains at the beginning of each year, so it also affects the depreciation rate for property you depreciate under the straight line method. See Straight line rate in the previous discussion. Use the applicable convention as explained in the following discussions.

Half-year convention. If this convention applies, you deduct a half-year of depreciation for the first year and the last year that you depreciate the property. You deduct a full year of depreciation for any other year during the recovery period.

Figure your depreciation deduction for the year you place the property in service by dividing the depreciation for a full year by 2. If you dispose of the property before the end of the recovery period, figure your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition the same way. If you hold the property for the entire recovery period, your depreciation deduction for the year that includes the final 6 months of the recovery period is the amount of your unrecovered basis in the property.

Mid-quarter convention. If this convention applies, the depreciation you can deduct for the first year you depreciate the property depends on the quarter in which you place the property in service.

A quarter of a full 12-month tax year is a period of 3 months. The first quarter in a year begins on the first day of the tax year. The second quarter begins on the first day of the fourth month of the tax year. The third quarter begins on the first day of the seventh month of the tax year. The fourth quarter begins on the first day of the tenth month of the tax year. A calendar year is divided into the following quarters.

 Quarter                      Months

 First            January, February, March

 Second                   April, May, June

 Third             July, August, September

 Fourth        October, November, December

Figure your depreciation deduction for the year you place the property in service by multiplying the depreciation for a full year by the percentage listed below for the quarter you place the property in service.

 Quarter       Percentage

 First              87.5%

 Second             62.5

 Third              37.5

 Fourth             12.5

If you dispose of the property before the end of the recovery period, figure your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition by multiplying a full year of depreciation by the percentage listed below for the quarter you dispose of the property.

 Quarter         Percentage

 First                12.5%

 Second               37.5

 Third                62.5

 Fourth               87.5

If you hold the property for the entire recovery period, your depreciation deduction for the year that includes the final quarter of the recovery period is the amount of your unrecovered basis in the property.

Mid-month convention. If this convention applies, the depreciation you can deduct for the first year that you depreciate the property depends on the month in which you place the property in service. Figure your depreciation deduction for the year you place the property in service by multiplying the depreciation for a full year by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of full months in the year that the property is in service plus 1/2 (or 0.5). The denominator is 12.

If you dispose of the property before the end of the recovery period, figure your depreciation deduction for the year of the disposition the same way. If you hold the property for the entire recovery period, your depreciation deduction for the year that includes the final month of the recovery period is the amount of your unrecovered basis in the property.

Example. You use the calendar year and place nonresidential real property in service in August. The property is in service 4 full months (September, October, November, and December). Your numerator is 4.5 (4 full months plus 0.5). You multiply the depreciation for a full year by 4.5/12, or 0.375.

Examples

The following examples show how to figure depreciation under MACRS without using the percentage tables. Figures are rounded for purposes of the examples. Assume for all the examples that you use a calendar year as your tax year.

Example 1--200% DB method and half-year convention. In February, you placed in service depreciable property with a 5-year recovery period and a basis of $1,000. You do not elect to take the section 179 deduction and the property does not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. You use GDS and the 200% declining balance (DB) method to figure your depreciation. When the straight line (SL) method results in an equal or larger deduction, you switch to the SL method. You did not place any property in service in the last 3 months of the year, so you must use the half-year convention.

First year. You figure the depreciation rate under the 200% DB method by dividing 2 (200%) by 5 (the number of years in the recovery period). The result is 40%. You multiply the adjusted basis of the property ($1,000) by the 40% DB rate. You apply the half-year convention by dividing the result ($400) by 2. Depreciation for the first year under the 200% DB method is $200.

You figure the depreciation rate under the straight line (SL) method by dividing 1 by 5, the number of years in the recovery period. The result is 20%.You multiply the adjusted basis of the property ($1,000) by the 20% SL rate. You apply the half-year convention by dividing the result ($200) by 2. Depreciation for the first year under the SL method is $100.

The DB method provides a larger deduction, so you deduct the $200 figured under the 200% DB method.

Second year. You reduce the adjusted basis ($1,000) by the depreciation claimed in the first year ($200). You multiply the result ($800) by the DB rate (40%). Depreciation for the second year under the 200% DB method is $320.

You figure the SL depreciation rate by dividing 1 by 4.5, the number of years remaining in the recovery period. (Based on the half-year convention, you used only half a year of the recovery period in the first year.) You multiply the reduced adjusted basis ($800) by the result (22.22%). Depreciation under the SL method for the second year is $178.

The DB method provides a larger deduction, so you deduct the $320 figured under the 200% DB method.

Third year. You reduce the adjusted basis ($800) by the depreciation claimed in the second year ($320). You multiply the result ($480) by the DB rate (40%). Depreciation for the third year under the 200% DB method is $192.

You figure the SL depreciation rate by dividing 1 by 3.5. You multiply the reduced adjusted basis ($480) by the result (28.57%). Depreciation under the SL method for the third year is $137.

The DB method provides a larger deduction, so you deduct the $192 figured under the 200% DB method.

Fourth year. You reduce the adjusted basis ($480) by the depreciation claimed in the third year ($192). You multiply the result ($288) by the DB rate (40%). Depreciation for the fourth year under the 200% DB method is $115.

You figure the SL depreciation rate by dividing 1 by 2.5. You multiply the reduced adjusted basis ($288) by the result (40%). Depreciation under the SL method for the fourth year is $115.

The SL method provides an equal deduction, so you switch to the SL method and deduct the $115.

Fifth year. You reduce the adjusted basis ($288) by the depreciation claimed in the fourth year ($115) to get the reduced adjusted basis of $173. You figure the SL depreciation rate by dividing 1 by 1.5. You multiply the reduced adjusted basis ($173) by the result (66.67%). Depreciation under the SL method for the fifth year is $115.

Sixth year. You reduce the adjusted basis ($173) by the depreciation claimed in the fifth year ($115) to get the reduced adjusted basis of $58. There is less than one year remaining in the recovery period, so the SL depreciation rate for the sixth year is 100%. You multiply the reduced adjusted basis ($58) by 100% to arrive at the depreciation deduction for the sixth year ($58).

Example 2--SL method and mid-month convention. In January, you bought and placed in service a building for $100,000 that is nonresidential real property with a recovery period of 39 years. The adjusted basis of the building is its cost of $100,000. You use GDS, the straight line (SL) method, and the mid-month convention to figure your depreciation.

First year. You figure the SL depreciation rate for the building by dividing 1 by 39 years. The result is .02564. The depreciation for a full year is $2,564 ($100,000 × .02564). Under the mid-month convention, you treat the property as placed in service in the middle of January. You get 11.5 months of depreciation for the year. Expressed as a decimal, the fraction of 11.5 months divided by 12 months is .958. Your first-year depreciation for the building is $2,456 ($2,564 × .958).

Second year. You subtract $2,456 from $100,000 to get your adjusted basis of $97,544 for the second year. The SL rate is .02629. This is 1 divided by the remaining recovery period of 38.042 years (39 years reduced by 11.5 months or .958 year). Your depreciation for the building for the second year is $2,564 ($97,544 × .02629).

Third year. The adjusted basis is $94,980 ($97,544 - $2,564). The SL rate is .027 (1 divided by 37.042 remaining years). Your depreciation for the third year is $2,564 ($94,980 × .027).

Example 3--200% DB method and mid-quarter convention. During the year, you bought and placed in service in your business the following items.

 ---------------------------------------------------------

Month Placed

 Item                            in Service           Cost

 ---------------------------------------------------------

 Safe                            January            $4,000

 ---------------------------------------------------------

 Office furniture                September           1,000

 ---------------------------------------------------------

 Computer (not listed

 property)                       October             5,000

 ---------------------------------------------------------

You do not elect a section

deduction and these items do not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. You use GDS and the 200% declining balance (DB) method to figure the depreciation. The total bases of all property you placed in service this year is $10,000. The basis of the computer ($5,000) is more than 40% of the total bases of all property placed in service during the year ($10,000), so you must use the mid-quarter convention. This convention applies to all three items of property. The safe and office furniture are 7-year property and the computer is 5-year property.

First and second year depreciation for safe. The 200% DB rate for 7-year property is .28571. You determine this by dividing 2.00 (200%) by 7 years. The depreciation for the safe for a full year is $1,143 ($4,000 × .28571). You placed the safe in service in the first quarter of your tax year, so you multiply $1,143 by 87.5% (the mid-quarter percentage for the first quarter). The result, $1,000, is your deduction for depreciation on the safe for the first year.

For the second year, the adjusted basis of the safe is $3,000. You figure this by subtracting the first year's depreciation ($1,000) from the basis of the safe ($4,000). Your depreciation deduction for the second year is $857 ($3,000 × .28571).

First and second year depreciation for furniture. The furniture is also 7-year property, so you use the same 200% DB rate of .28571. You multiply the basis of the furniture ($1,000) by .28571 to get the depreciation of $286 for the full year. You placed the furniture in service in the third quarter of your tax year, so you multiply $286 by 37.5% (the mid-quarter percentage for the third quarter). The result, $107, is your deduction for depreciation on the furniture for the first year.

For the second year, the adjusted basis of the furniture is $893. You figure this by subtracting the first year's depreciation ($107) from the basis of the furniture ($1,000). Your depreciation for the second year is $255 ($893 × .28571).

First and second year depreciation for computer. The 200% DB rate for 5-year property is .40. You determine this by dividing 2.00 (200%) by 5 years. The depreciation for the computer for a full year is $2,000 ($5,000 × .40). You placed the computer in service in the fourth quarter of your tax year, so you multiply the $2,000 by 12.5% (the mid-quarter percentage for the fourth quarter). The result, $250, is your deduction for depreciation on the computer for the first year.

For the second year, the adjusted basis of the computer is $4,750. You figure this by subtracting the first year's depreciation ($250) from the basis of the computer ($5,000). Your depreciation deduction for the second year is $1,900 ($4,750 × .40).

Example 4--200% DB method and half-year convention. Last year, in July, you bought and placed in service in your business a new item of 7-year property. This was the only item of property you placed in service last year. The property cost $39,000 and you elected a $24,000 section 179 deduction. You also took a special depreciation allowance of $7,500. Your unadjusted basis for the property is $7,500. Because you did not place any property in service in the last 3 months of your tax year, you used the half-year convention. You figured your deduction using the percentages in Table A-1 for 7-year property. Last year, your depreciation was $1,072 ($7,500 × 14.29%).

In July of this year, your property was vandalized. You had a deductible casualty loss of $3,000. You spent $3,500 to put the property back in operational order. Your adjusted basis at the end of this year is $6,928. You figured this by first subtracting the first year's depreciation ($1,072) and the casualty loss ($3,000) from the unadjusted basis of $7,500. To this amount ($3,428), you then added the $3,500 repair cost.

You cannot use the table percentages to figure your depreciation for this property for this year because of the adjustments to basis. You must figure the deduction yourself. You determine the DB rate by dividing 2.00 (200%) by 7 years. The result is .28571 or 28.571%. You multiply the adjusted basis of your property ($6,928) by the declining balance rate of .28571 to get your depreciation deduction of $1,979 for this year.

Figuring the Deduction for Property Acquired in a Nontaxable Exchange

If your property has a carryover basis because you acquired it in a nontaxable transfer such as a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion, you must generally figure depreciation for the property as if the transfer had not occurred. However, see Like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions, earlier, in chapter 3 under How Much Can You Deduct and Property Acquired in a Like-kind Exchange or Involuntary Conversion next.

Property Acquired in a Like-kind Exchange or Involuntary Conversion

You generally must depreciate the carryover basis of property acquired in a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion over the remaining recovery period of the property exchanged or involuntarily converted. You also generally continue to use the same depreciation method and convention used for the exchanged or involuntarily converted property. This applies only to acquired property with the same or a shorter recovery period and the same or more accelerated depreciation method than the property exchanged or involuntarily converted. The excess basis (the part of the acquired property's basis that exceeds its carryover basis), if any, of the acquired property is treated as newly placed in service property.

For acquired property that has a longer recovery period or less accelerated depreciation method than the exchanged or involuntarily converted property, you generally must depreciate the carryover basis of the acquired property as if it were placed in service in the same tax year as the exchanged or involuntarily converted property. You also generally continue to use the longer recovery period and less accelerated depreciation method of the acquired property.

If the MACRS property you acquired in the exchange or involuntary conversion is qualified property, discussed earlier in chapter 3 under What Is Qualified Property, you can claim a special depreciation allowance on the carryover basis. Special rules apply to vehicles acquired in a trade-in. For information on how to figure depreciation for a vehicle acquired in a trade-in that is subject to the passenger automobile limits, see Deductions For Passenger Automobiles Acquired in a Trade-in under Do the Passenger Automobile Limits Apply in chapter 5.

Election out. Instead of using the above rules, you can elect, for depreciation purposes, to treat the adjusted basis of the exchanged or involuntarily converted property as if disposed of at the time of the exchange or involuntary conversion. Treat the carryover basis and excess basis, if any, for the acquired property as if placed in service the later of the date you acquired it or the time of the disposition of the exchanged or involuntarily converted property. The depreciable basis of the new property is the adjusted basis of the exchanged or involuntarily converted property plus any additional amount you paid for it. The election, if made, applies to both the acquired property and the exchanged or involuntarily converted property. This election does not affect the amount of gain or loss recognized on the exchange or involuntary conversion.

When to make the election. You must make the election on a timely filed return (including extensions) for the year of replacement. The election must be made separately by each person acquiring replacement property. In the case of a partnership, S corporation, or consolidated group, the election is made by the partnership, by the S corporation, or by the common parent of a consolidated group, respectively. Once made, the election may not be revoked without IRS consent.

For more information and special rules, see the Instructions for Form 4562.

Property Acquired in a Nontaxable Transfer

You must depreciate MACRS property acquired by a corporation or partnership in certain nontaxable transfers over the property's remaining recovery period in the transferor's hands, as if the transfer had not occurred. You must continue to use the same depreciation method and convention as the transferor. You can depreciate the part of the property's basis that exceeds its carryover basis (the transferor's adjusted basis in the property) as newly purchased MACRS property.

The nontaxable transfers covered by this rule include the following.

Figuring the Deduction for a Short Tax Year

You cannot use the MACRS percentage tables to determine depreciation for a short tax year. A short tax year is any tax year with less than 12 full months. This section discusses the rules for determining the depreciation deduction for property you place in service or dispose of in a short tax year. It also discusses the rules for determining depreciation when you have a short tax year during the recovery period (other than the year the property is placed in service or disposed of).

For more information on figuring depreciation for a short tax year, see Revenue Procedure 89-15, 1989-1 C.B. 816.

Using the Applicable Convention in a Short Tax Year

The applicable convention establishes the date property is treated as placed in service and disposed of. Depreciation is allowable only for that part of the tax year the property is treated as in service. The recovery period begins on the placed in service date determined by applying the convention. The remaining recovery period at the beginning of the next tax year is the full recovery period less the part for which depreciation was allowable in the first tax year.

The following discussions explain how to use the applicable convention in a short tax year.

Mid-month convention. Under the mid-month convention, you always treat your property as placed in service or disposed of on the midpoint of the month it is placed in service or disposed of. You apply this rule without regard to your tax year.

Half-year convention. Under the half-year convention, you treat property as placed in service or disposed of on the midpoint of the tax year it is placed in service or disposed of.

First or last day of month. For a short tax year beginning on the first day of a month or ending on the last day of a month, the tax year consists of the number of months in the tax year. If the short tax year includes part of a month, you generally include the full month in the number of months in the tax year. You determine the midpoint of the tax year by dividing the number of months in the tax year by 2. For the half-year convention, you treat property as placed in service or disposed of on either the first day or the midpoint of a month.

For example, a short tax year that begins on June 20 and ends on December 31 consists of 7 months. You use only full months for this determination, so you treat the tax year as beginning on June 1 instead of June 20. The midpoint of the tax year is the middle of September (3 1/2 months from the beginning of the tax year). You treat property as placed in service or disposed of on this midpoint.

Example. Tara Corporation, a calendar year taxpayer, was incorporated on March 15. For purposes of the half-year convention, it has a short tax year of 10 months, ending on December 31, 2015. During the short tax year, Tara placed property in service for which it uses the half-year convention. Tara treats this property as placed in service on the first day of the sixth month of the short tax year, or August 1, 2015.

Not on first or last day of month. For a short tax year not beginning on the first day of a month and not ending on the last day of a month, the tax year consists of the number of days in the tax year. You determine the midpoint of the tax year by dividing the number of days in the tax year by 2. For the half-year convention, you treat property as placed in service or disposed of on either the first day or the midpoint of a month. If the result of dividing the number of days in the tax year by 2 is not the first day or the midpoint of a month, you treat the property as placed in service or disposed of on the nearest preceding first day or midpoint of a month.

Mid-quarter convention. To determine if you must use the mid-quarter convention, compare the basis of property you place in service in the last 3 months of your tax year to that of property you place in service during the full tax year. The length of your tax year does not matter. If you have a short tax year of 3 months or less, use the mid-quarter convention for all applicable property you place in service during that tax year.

You treat property under the mid-quarter convention as placed in service or disposed of on the midpoint of the quarter of the tax year in which it is placed in service or disposed of. Divide a short tax year into 4 quarters and determine the midpoint of each quarter.

For a short tax year of 4 or 8 full calendar months, determine quarters on the basis of whole months. The midpoint of each quarter is either the first day or the midpoint of a month. Treat property as placed in service or disposed of on this midpoint.

To determine the midpoint of a quarter for a short tax year of other than 4 or 8 full calendar months, complete the following steps.

If the result of (3) gives you a midpoint of a quarter that is on a day other than the first day or midpoint of a month, treat the property as placed in service or disposed of on the nearest preceding first day or midpoint of that month.

Example. Tara Corporation, a calendar year taxpayer, was incorporated and began business on March 15. It has a short tax year of 9 1/2 months, ending on December 31. During December, it placed property in service for which it must use the mid-quarter convention. This is a short tax year of other than 4 or 8 full calendar months, so it must determine the midpoint of each quarter.

The following table shows the quarters of Tara Corporation's short tax year, the midpoint of each quarter, and the date in each quarter that Tara must treat its property as placed in service.

 ---------------------------------------------

Placed in

 Quarter         Midpoint           Service

 ---------------------------------------------

 3/15 - 5/26             4/20             4/15

 ---------------------------------------------

 5/27 - 8/07             7/02             7/01

 ---------------------------------------------

 8/08 - 10/19            9/13             9/01

 ---------------------------------------------

 10/20 - 12/31          11/25            11/15

 ---------------------------------------------

The last quarter of the short tax year begins on October 20, which is 73 days from December 31, the end of the tax year. The 37th day of the last quarter is November 25, which is the midpoint of the quarter. November 25 is not the first day or the midpoint of November, so Tara Corporation must treat the property as placed in service in the middle of November (the nearest preceding first day or midpoint of that month).

Property Placed in Service in a Short Tax Year

To figure your MACRS depreciation deduction for the short tax year, you must first determine the depreciation for a full tax year. You do this by multiplying your basis in the property by the applicable depreciation rate. Then, determine the depreciation for the short tax year. Do this by multiplying the depreciation for a full tax year by a fraction. The numerator (top number) of the fraction is the number of months (including parts of a month) the property is treated as in service during the tax year (applying the applicable convention). The denominator (bottom number) is 12. See Depreciation After a Short Tax Year, later, for information on how to figure depreciation in later years.

Example 1--half-year convention. Tara Corporation, with a short tax year beginning March 15 and ending December 31, placed in service on March 16 an item of 5-year property with a basis of $1,000. This is the only property the corporation placed in service during the short tax year. Tara does not elect to claim a section 179 deduction and the property does not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. The depreciation method for this property is the 200% declining balance method. The depreciation rate is 40% and Tara applies the half-year convention.

Tara treats the property as placed in service on August 1. The determination of this August 1 date is explained in the example illustrating the half-year convention under Using the Applicable Convention in a Short Tax Year, earlier. Tara is allowed 5 months of depreciation for the short tax year that consists of 10 months. The corporation first multiplies the basis ($1,000) by 40% (the declining balance rate) to get the depreciation for a full tax year of $400. The corporation then multiplies $400 by 5/12 to get the short tax year depreciation of $167.

Example 2--mid-quarter convention. Tara Corporation, with a short tax year beginning March 15 and ending on December 31, placed in service on October 16 an item of 5-year property with a basis of $1,000. Tara does not elect to claim a section 179 deduction and the property does not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. The depreciation method for this property is the 200% declining balance method. The depreciation rate is 40%. The corporation must apply the mid-quarter convention because the property was the only item placed in service that year and it was placed in service in the last 3 months of the tax year.

Tara treats the property as placed in service on September 1. This date is shown in the table provided in the example illustrating the mid-quarter convention under Using the Applicable Convention in a Short Tax Year, earlier, for property that Tara Corporation placed in service during the quarter that begins on August 8 and ends on October 19. Under MACRS, Tara is allowed 4 months of depreciation for the short tax year that consists of 10 months. The corporation first multiplies the basis ($1,000) by 40% to get the depreciation for a full tax year of $400. The corporation then multiplies $400 by 4/12 to get the short tax year depreciation of $133.

Property Placed in Service Before a Short Tax Year

If you have a short tax year after the tax year in which you began depreciating property, you must change the way you figure depreciation for that property. If you were using the percentage tables, you can no longer use them. You must figure depreciation for the short tax year and each later tax year as explained next.

Depreciation After a Short Tax Year

You can use either of the following methods to figure the depreciation for years after a short tax year.

You must use the method you choose consistently.

Using the simplified method for a 12-month year. Under the simplified method, you figure the depreciation for a later 12-month year in the recovery period by multiplying the adjusted basis of your property at the beginning of the year by the applicable depreciation rate.

Example. Assume the same facts as in Example 1 under Property Placed in Service in a Short Tax Year, earlier. The Tara Corporation claimed depreciation of $167 for its short tax year. The adjusted basis on January 1 of the next year is $833 ($1,000 - $167). Tara's depreciation for that next year is 40% of $833, or $333.

Using the simplified method for a short year. If a later tax year in the recovery period is a short tax year, you figure depreciation for that year by multiplying the adjusted basis of the property at the beginning of the tax year by the applicable depreciation rate, and then by a fraction. The fraction's numerator is the number of months (including parts of a month) in the tax year. Its denominator is 12.

Using the simplified method for an early disposition. If you dispose of property in a later tax year before the end of the recovery period, determine the depreciation for the year of disposition by multiplying the adjusted basis of the property at the beginning of the tax year by the applicable depreciation rate and then multiplying the result by a fraction. The fraction's numerator is the number of months (including parts of a month) the property is treated as in service during the tax year (applying the applicable convention). Its denominator is 12.

Using the allocation method for a 12-month or short tax year. Under the allocation method, you figure the depreciation for each later tax year by allocating to that year the depreciation attributable to the parts of the recovery years that fall within that year. Whether your tax year is a 12-month or short tax year, you figure the depreciation by determining which recovery years are included in that year. For each recovery year included, multiply the depreciation attributable to that recovery year by a fraction. The fraction's numerator is the number of months (including parts of a month) that are included in both the tax year and the recovery year. Its denominator is 12. The allowable depreciation for the tax year is the sum of the depreciation figured for each recovery year.

Example. Assume the same facts as in Example 1 under Property Placed in Service in a Short Tax Year, earlier. The Tara Corporation's first tax year after the short tax year is a full year of 12 months, beginning January 1 and ending December 31. The first recovery year for the 5-year property placed in service during the short tax year extends from August 1 to July 31. Tara deducted 5 months of the first recovery year on its short-year tax return. Seven months of the first recovery year and 5 months of the second recovery year fall within the next tax year. The depreciation for the next tax year is $333, which is the sum of the following.

If you dispose of property before the end of the recovery period in a later tax year, determine the depreciation for the year of disposition by multiplying the depreciation figured for each recovery year or part of a recovery year included in the tax year by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of months (including parts of months) the property is treated as in service in the tax year (applying the applicable convention). The denominator is 12. If there is more than one recovery year in the tax year, you add together the depreciation for each recovery year.

How Do You Use General Asset Accounts?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

To make it easier to figure MACRS depreciation, you can group separate properties into one or more general asset accounts (GAAs). You then can depreciate all the properties in each account as a single item of property.

Property you cannot include. You cannot include property in a GAA if you use it in both a personal activity and a trade or business (or for the production of income) in the year in which you first place it in service. If property you included in a GAA is later used in a personal activity, see Terminating GAA Treatment, later.

Property generating foreign source income. For information on the GAA treatment of property that generates foreign source income, see sections 1.168(i)-1(h) and 1.168(i)-4 of the regulations.

Grouping Property

Each GAA must include only property you placed in service in the same tax year and that has the following in common.

The following rules also apply when you establish a GAA.

See section

Example. Make & Sell, a calendar-year corporation, set up a GAA for ten machines. The machines cost a total of $10,000 and were placed in service in June 2015. One of the machines cost $8,200 and the rest cost a total of $1,800. This GAA is depreciated under the 200% declining balance method with a 5-year recovery period and a half-year convention. Make & Sell did not claim the section 179 deduction on the machines and the machines did not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. The depreciation allowance for 2015 is $2,000 [($10,000 × 40%) ÷ 2]. As of January 1, 2016, the depreciation reserve account is $2,000.

Passenger automobiles. To figure depreciation on passenger automobiles in a GAA, apply the deduction limits discussed in chapter 5 under Do the Passenger Automobile Limits Apply. Multiply the amount determined using these limits by the number of automobiles originally included in the account, reduced by the total number of automobiles removed from the GAA as discussed in Terminating GAA Treatment, later.

Disposing of GAA Property

When you dispose of property included in a GAA, the following rules generally apply.

However, these rules do not apply to any disposition described later under

Disposition. Property in a GAA is considered disposed of when you do any of the following.

The retirement of a structural component of real property is not a disposition unless it is a partial disposition. See section

deduction, special depreciation allowance, and electric vehicle credit.

Expensed costs. Expensed costs that are subject to recapture as depreciation include the following.

The facts are the same as in the example under

earlier. In February 2016, Make & Sell sells the machine that cost $8,200 to an unrelated person for $9,000. The machine is treated as having an adjusted basis of zero.

On its 2016 tax return, Make & Sell recognizes the $9,000 amount realized as ordinary income because it is not more than the GAA's unadjusted depreciable basis ($10,000) plus any expensed cost (for example, the section 179 deduction) for property in the GAA ($0), minus any amounts previously recognized as ordinary income because of dispositions of other property from the GAA ($0).

The unadjusted depreciable basis and depreciation reserve of the GAA are not affected by the sale of the machine. The depreciation allowance for the GAA in 2016 is $3,200 [($10,000 - $2,000) × 40%].

Example 2. Assume the same facts as in Example 1. In June 2017, Make & Sell sells seven machines to an unrelated person for a total of $1,100. These machines are treated as having an adjusted basis of zero.

On its 2017 tax return, Make & Sell recognizes $1,000 as ordinary income. This is the GAA's unadjusted depreciable basis ($10,000) plus the expensed costs ($0), minus the amount previously recognized as ordinary income ($9,000). The remaining amount realized of $100 ($1,100 - $1,000) is section 1231 gain (discussed in chapter 3 of Publication 544).

The unadjusted depreciable basis and depreciation reserve of the GAA are not affected by the disposition of the machines. The depreciation allowance for the GAA in 2017 is $1,920 [($10,000 - $5,200) × 40%].

Terminating GAA Treatment

You must remove the following property from a GAA.

If you remove property from a GAA, you must make the following adjustments.

These adjustments have no effect on the recognition and character of prior dispositions subject to the rules discussed earlier under

Nonrecognition transactions. If you dispose of GAA property in a nonrecognition transaction, you must remove it from the GAA. The following are nonrecognition transactions.

The recipient of the property (the person to whom it is transferred) must include your (the transferor's) adjusted basis in the property in a GAA. If you transferred either all of the property, the last item of property, or the remaining portion of the last item of property, in a GAA, the recipient's basis in the property is the result of the following.

For this purpose, the adjusted depreciable basis of a GAA is the unadjusted depreciable basis of the GAA minus any depreciation allowed or allowable for the GAA.

Abusive transactions. If you dispose of GAA property in an abusive transaction, you must remove it from the GAA. A disposition is an abusive transaction if it is not a nonrecognition transaction (described earlier) or a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion and a main purpose for the disposition is to get a tax benefit or a result that would not be available without the use of a GAA. Examples of abusive transactions include the following.

You must determine the gain, loss, or other deduction due to an abusive transaction by taking into account the property's adjusted basis. The adjusted basis of the property at the time of the disposition is the result of the following:

If there is a gain, the amount subject to recapture as ordinary income is the smaller of the following.

If you dispose of GAA property in a qualifying disposition, you can choose to remove the property from the GAA. A qualifying disposition is one that does not involve all the property, or the last item of property, remaining in a GAA and that is described by any of the following.

If you choose to remove the property from the GAA, figure your gain, loss, or other deduction resulting from the disposition in the manner described earlier under

Like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions. If you dispose of GAA property as a result of a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion, you must remove from the GAA the property that you transferred. See chapter 1 of Publication 544 for information on these transactions. Figure your gain, loss, or other deduction resulting from the disposition in the manner described earlier under Abusive transactions.

Example. Sankofa, a calendar-year corporation, maintains one GAA for 12 machines. Each machine costs $15,000 and was placed in service in 2013. Of the 12 machines, nine cost a total of $135,000 and are used in Sankofa's New York plant and three machines cost $45,000 and are used in Sankofa's New Jersey plant. Assume this GAA uses the 200% declining balance depreciation method, a 5-year recovery period, and a half-year convention. Sankofa does not claim the section 179 deduction and the machines do not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. As of January 1, 2015, the depreciation reserve account for the GAA is $93,600.

In May 2015, Sankofa sells its entire manufacturing plant in New Jersey to an unrelated person. The sales proceeds allocated to each of the three machines at the New Jersey plant is $5,000. This transaction is a qualifying disposition, so Sankofa chooses to remove the three machines from the GAA and figure the gain, loss, or other deduction by taking into account their adjusted bases.

For Sankofa's 2015 return, the depreciation allowance for the GAA is figured as follows. As of December 31, 2014, the depreciation allowed or allowable for the three machines at the New Jersey plant is $23,400. As of January 1, 2015, the unadjusted depreciable basis of the GAA is reduced from $180,000 to $135,000 ($180,000 minus the $45,000 unadjusted depreciable bases of the three machines), and the depreciation reserve account is decreased from $93,600 to $70,200 ($93,600 minus $23,400 depreciation allowed or allowable for the three machines as of December 31, 2014). The depreciation allowance for the GAA in 2015 is $25,920 [($135,000 - $70,200) × 40%].

For Sankofa's 2015 return, gain or loss for each of the three machines at the New Jersey plant is determined as follows. The depreciation allowed or allowable in 2015 for each machine is $1,440 [(($15,000 - $7,800) × 40%) ÷ 2]. The adjusted basis of each machine is $5,760 (the adjusted depreciable basis of $7,200 removed from the account less the $1,440 depreciation allowed or allowable in 2015). As a result, the loss recognized in 2015 for each machine is $760 ($5,000 - $5,760). This loss is subject to section 1231 treatment. See chapter 3 of Publication 544 for information on section 1231 losses.

Disposition of all property in a GAA. If you dispose of all the property, or the last item of property, in a GAA, you can choose to end the GAA. If you make this choice, you figure the gain or loss by comparing the adjusted depreciable basis of the GAA with the amount realized.

If there is a gain, the amount subject to recapture as ordinary income is limited to the result of the following.

If you dispose of all the property or the last item of property in a GAA as a result of a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion, the GAA terminates. You must figure the gain or loss in the manner described above under

Example. Duforcelf, a calendar-year corporation, maintains a GAA for 1,000 calculators that cost a total of $60,000 and were placed in service in 2012. Assume this GAA is depreciated under the 200% declining balance method, has a recovery period of 5 years, and uses a half-year convention. Duforcelf does not claim the section 179 deduction and the calculators do not qualify for a special depreciation allowance. In 2014, Duforcelf sells 200 of the calculators to an unrelated person for $10,000. The $10,000 is recognized as ordinary income.

In March 2015, Duforcelf sells the remaining calculators in the GAA to an unrelated person for $35,000. Duforcelf decides to end the GAA.

On the date of the disposition, the adjusted depreciable basis of the account is $23,040 (unadjusted depreciable basis of $60,000 minus the depreciation allowed or allowable of $36,960). In 2015, Duforcelf recognizes a gain of $11,960. This is the amount realized of $35,000 minus the adjusted depreciable basis of $23,040. The gain subject to recapture as ordinary income is limited to the depreciation allowed or allowable minus the amounts previously recognized as ordinary income ($36,960 - $10,000 = $26,960). Therefore, the entire gain of $11,960 is recaptured as ordinary income.

Electing To Use a GAA

An election to include property in a GAA is made separately by each owner of the property. This means that an election to include property in a GAA must be made by each member of a consolidated group and at the partnership or S corporation level (and not by each partner or shareholder separately).

How to make the election. Make the election by completing line 18 of Form 4562.

When to make the election. You must make the election on a timely filed tax return (including extensions) for the year in which you place in service the property included in the GAA. However, if you timely filed your return for the year without making the election, you still can make the election by filing an amended return within 6 months of the due date of the return (excluding extensions). Attach the election to the amended return and write "Filed pursuant to section

RECORDS: You must maintain records that identify the property included in each GAA, that establish the unadjusted depreciable basis and depreciation reserve of the GAA, and that reflect the amount realized during the year upon dispositions from each GAA. However, see chapter 2 for the recordkeeping requirements for section 179 property.

Revoking an election. You can revoke an election to use a GAA only in the following situations.

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

When you dispose of property that you depreciated using MACRS, any gain on the disposition generally is recaptured (included in income) as ordinary income up to the amount of the depreciation previously allowed or allowable for the property. Depreciation, for this purpose, includes the following.

There is no recapture for residential rental and nonresidential real property unless that property is qualified property for which you claimed a special depreciation allowance. For more information on depreciation recapture, see

.

5. Additional Rules for Listed Property

Introduction

This chapter discusses the deduction limits and other special rules that apply to certain listed property. Listed property includes cars and other property used for transportation, property used for entertainment, and certain computers.

Deductions for listed property (other than certain leased property) are subject to the following special rules and limits.

This chapter defines listed property and explains the special rules and depreciation deduction limits that apply, including the special inclusion amount rule for leased property. It also discusses the recordkeeping rules for listed property and explains how to report information about the property on your tax return.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

See

for information about getting publications and forms.

What Is Listed Property?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

Listed property is any of the following.

An improvement made to listed property that must be capitalized is treated as a new item of depreciable property. The recovery period and method of depreciation that apply to the listed property as a whole also apply to the improvement. For example, if you must depreciate the listed property using the straight line method, you also must depreciate the improvement using the straight line method.

Passenger Automobiles

A passenger automobile is any four-wheeled vehicle made primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways and rated at 6,000 pounds or less of unloaded gross vehicle weight (6,000 pounds or less of gross vehicle weight for trucks and vans). It includes any part, component, or other item physically attached to the automobile at the time of purchase or usually included in the purchase price of an automobile.

The following vehicles are not considered passenger automobiles for these purposes.

Qualified nonpersonal use vehicles are vehicles that by their nature are not likely to be used more than a minimal amount for personal purposes. They include the trucks and vans listed as excepted vehicles under

next. They also include trucks and vans that have been specially modified so that they are not likely to be used more than a minimal amount for personal purposes, such as by installation of permanent shelving and painting the vehicle to display advertising or the company's name.

For a detailed discussion of passenger automobiles, including leased passenger automobiles, see

deduction) or rent expenses for your use of the property as an employee.

Employer's convenience. Whether the use of listed property is for your employer's convenience must be determined from all the facts. The use is for your employer's convenience if it is for a substantial business reason of the employer. The use of listed property during your regular working hours to carry on your employer's business generally is for the employer's convenience.

Condition of employment. Whether the use of listed property is a condition of your employment depends on all the facts and circumstances. The use of property must be required for you to perform your duties properly. Your employer does not have to require explicitly that you use the property. However, a mere statement by the employer that the use of the property is a condition of your employment is not sufficient.

Example 1. Virginia Sycamore is employed as a courier with We Deliver, which provides local courier services. She owns and uses a motorcycle to deliver packages to downtown offices. We Deliver explicitly requires all delivery persons to own a car or motorcycle for use in their employment. Virginia's use of the motorcycle is for the convenience of We Deliver and is required as a condition of employment.

Example 2. Bill Nelson is an inspector for Uplift, a construction company with many sites in the local area. He must travel to these sites on a regular basis. Uplift does not furnish an automobile or explicitly require him to use his own automobile. However, it pays him for any costs he incurs in traveling to the various sites. The use of his own automobile or a rental automobile is for the convenience of Uplift and is required as a condition of employment.

Example 3. Assume the same facts as in Example 2, except that Uplift furnishes a car to Bill, who chooses to use his own car and receive payment for using it. The use of his own car is neither for the convenience of Uplift nor required as a condition of employment.

Example 4. Marilyn Lee is a pilot for Y Company, a small charter airline. Y requires pilots to obtain 80 hours of flight time annually in addition to flight time spent with the airline. Pilots usually can obtain these hours by flying with the Air Force Reserve or by flying part-time with another airline. Marilyn owns her own airplane. The use of her airplane to obtain the required flight hours is neither for the convenience of the employer nor required as a condition of employment.

Example 5. David Rule is employed as an engineer with Zip, an engineering contracting firm. He occasionally takes work home at night rather than work late in the office. He owns and uses a home computer which is virtually identical to the office model. His use of the computer is neither for the convenience of his employer nor required as a condition of employment.

What Is the Business-Use Requirement?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

You can claim the section

deduction and a special depreciation allowance for listed property and depreciate listed property using GDS and a declining balance method if the property meets the business-use requirement. To meet this requirement, listed property must be used predominantly (more than 50% of its total use) for qualified business use. If this requirement is not met, the following rules apply.

Exception for leased property. The business-use requirement generally does not apply to any listed property leased or held for leasing by anyone regularly engaged in the business of leasing listed property.

You are considered regularly engaged in the business of leasing listed property only if you enter into contracts for the leasing of listed property with some frequency over a continuous period of time. This determination is made on the basis of the facts and circumstances in each case and takes into account the nature of your business in its entirety. Occasional or incidental leasing activity is insufficient. For example, if you lease only one passenger automobile during a tax year, you are not regularly engaged in the business of leasing automobiles. An employer who allows an employee to use the employer's property for personal purposes and charges the employee for the use is not regularly engaged in the business of leasing the property used by the employee.

How To Allocate Use

To determine whether the business-use requirement is met, you must allocate the use of any item of listed property used for more than one purpose during the year among its various uses.

For passenger automobiles and other means of transportation, allocate the property's use on the basis of mileage. You determine the percentage of qualified business use by dividing the number of miles you drove the vehicle for business purposes during the year by the total number of miles you drove the vehicle for all purposes (including business miles) during the year.

For other listed property, allocate the property's use on the basis of the most appropriate unit of time the property is actually used (rather than merely being available for use). For example, you can determine the percentage of business use of a computer by dividing the number of hours you used the computer for business purposes during the year by the total number of hours you used the computer for all purposes (including business use) during the year.

Entertainment use. Treat the use of listed property for entertainment, recreation, or amusement purposes as a business use only to the extent you can deduct expenses (other than interest and property tax expenses) due to its use as an ordinary and necessary business expense.

Commuting use. The use of an automobile for commuting is not business use, regardless of whether work is performed during the trip. For example, a business telephone call made on a car telephone while commuting to work does not change the character of the trip from commuting to business. This is also true for a business meeting held in a car while commuting to work. Similarly, a business call made on an otherwise personal trip does not change the character of a trip from personal to business. The fact that an automobile is used to display material that advertises the owner's or user's trade or business does not convert an otherwise personal use into business use.

Use of your automobile by another person. If someone else uses your automobile, do not treat that use as business use unless one of the following conditions applies.

Treat any payment to you for the use of the automobile as a rent payment for purposes of item (3).

Employee deductions. If you are an employee, do not treat your use of listed property as business use unless it is for your employer's convenience and is required as a condition of your employment. See Can Employees Claim a Deduction, earlier.

Qualified Business Use

Qualified business use of listed property is any use of the property in your trade or business. However, it does not include the following uses.

Exception for leasing or compensatory use of aircraft. Treat the leasing of any aircraft by a 5% owner or related person, or the compensatory use of any aircraft, as a qualified business use if at least 25% of the total use of the aircraft during the year is for a qualified business use.

5% owner. For a business entity that is not a corporation, a 5% owner is any person who owns more than 5% of the capital or profits interest in the business.

For a corporation, a 5% owner is any person who owns, or is considered to own, either of the following.

For a description of related persons, see

in the discussion on property owned or used in 1986 under

in chapter 1. For this purpose, however, treat as related persons only the relationships listed in items (1) through (10) of that discussion and substitute "50%" for "10%" each place it appears.

Examples. The following examples illustrate whether the use of business property is qualified business use.

Example 1. John Maple is the sole proprietor of a plumbing contracting business. John employs his brother, Richard, in the business. As part of Richard's pay, he is allowed to use one of the company automobiles for personal use. The company includes the value of the personal use of the automobile in Richard's gross income and properly withholds tax on it. The use of the automobile is pay for the performance of services by a related person, so it is not a qualified business use.

Example 2. John, in Example 1, allows unrelated employees to use company automobiles for personal purposes. He does not include the value of the personal use of the company automobiles as part of their compensation and he does not withhold tax on the value of the use of the automobiles. This use of company automobiles by employees is not a qualified business use.

Example 3. James Company Inc. owns several automobiles that its employees use for business purposes. The employees also are allowed to take the automobiles home at night. The fair market value of each employee's use of an automobile for any personal purpose, such as commuting to and from work, is reported as income to the employee and James Company withholds tax on it. This use of company automobiles by employees, even for personal purposes, is a qualified business use for the company.

Investment Use

The use of property to produce income in a nonbusiness activity (investment use) is not a qualified business use. However, you can treat the investment use as business use to figure the depreciation deduction for the property in a given year.

Example 1. Sarah Bradley uses a home computer 50% of the time to manage her investments. She also uses the computer 40% of the time in her part-time consumer research business. Sarah's home computer is listed property because it is not used at a regular business establishment. She does not use the computer predominantly for qualified business use. Therefore, she cannot elect a section 179 deduction or claim a special depreciation allowance for the computer. She must depreciate it using the straight line method over the ADS recovery period. Her combined business/investment use for determining her depreciation deduction is 90%.

Example 2. If Sarah uses her computer 30% of the time to manage her investments and 60% of the time in her consumer research business, it is used predominantly for qualified business use. She can elect a section 179 deduction and, if she does not deduct all the computer's cost, she can claim a special depreciation allowance and depreciate the computer using the 200% declining balance method over the GDS recovery period. Her combined business/investment use for determining her depreciation deduction is 90%.

Recapture of Excess Depreciation

If you used listed property more than 50% in a qualified business use in the year you placed it in service, you must recapture (include in income) excess depreciation in the first year you use it 50% or less. You also increase the adjusted basis of your property by the same amount.

Excess depreciation is:

To determine the amount in (2) above, you must refigure the depreciation using the straight line method and the ADS recovery period.

Example. In June 2011, Ellen Rye purchased and placed in service a pickup truck that cost $18,000. She used it only for qualified business use for 2011 through 2014. Ellen claimed a section 179 deduction of $10,000 based on the purchase of the truck. She began depreciating it using the 200% DB method over a 5-year GDS recovery period. The pickup truck's gross vehicle weight was over 6,000 pounds, so it was not subject to the passenger automobile limits discussed later under Do the Passenger Automobile Limits Apply. During 2015, she used the truck 50% for business and 50% for personal purposes. She includes $4,018 excess depreciation in her gross income for 2015. The excess depreciation is determined as follows.

 Total section 179 deduction ($10,000) and

   depreciation claimed ($6,618) for 2011

   through 2014. (Depreciation is from

   Table A-1.)                                $16,618

Minus:

 Depreciation allowable (Table

   A-8):

   2011 - 10% of $18,000          $1,800

   2012 - 20% of $18,000           3,600

   2013 - 20% of $18,000           3,600

   2014 - 20% of $18,000           3,600       12,600

                                  ------      -------

Excess depreciation                           $4,018

                                              =======

If Ellen's use of the truck does not change to 50% for business and 50% for personal purposes until 2017, there will be no excess depreciation. The total depreciation allowable using Table A-8 through 2017 will be $18,000, which equals the total of the section

deduction and depreciation she will have claimed.

Where to figure and report recapture. Use Form 4797, Part IV, to figure the recapture amount. Report the recapture amount as other income on the same form or schedule on which you took the depreciation deduction. For example, report the recapture amount as other income on Schedule C (Form 1040) if you took the depreciation deduction on Schedule C. If you took the depreciation deduction on Form 2106, report the recapture amount as other income on Form 1040, line 21.

Lessee's Inclusion Amount

If you use leased listed property other than a passenger automobile for business/investment use, you must include an amount in your income in the first year your qualified business-use percentage is 50% or less. Your qualified business-use percentage is the part of the property's total use that is qualified business use (defined earlier). For the inclusion amount rules for a leased passenger automobile, see Leasing a Car in chapter 4 of

1. The fair market value of the property, multiplied by

2. The business/investment use for the first tax year the qualified business-use percentage is 50% or less, multiplied by

• Business/investment use

• Circumstantial evidence

• Documentary evidence

• The amount of each separate expenditure, such as the cost of acquiring the item, maintenance and repair costs, capital improvement costs, lease payments, and any other expenses.

• The amount of each business and investment use (based on an appropriate measure, such as mileage for vehicles and time for other listed property), and the total use of the property for the tax year.

• The date of the expenditure or use.

• The business or investment purpose for the expenditure or use.

• The statement is given by an employee to the employer, or

• The statement is given by an independent contractor to the client or customer.

• By your own oral or written statement containing detailed information as to the element.

• By other evidence sufficient to establish the element.

• Any deduction for a vehicle.

• A depreciation deduction for any other listed property.

1. You maintain a written policy statement that prohibits one of the following uses of the vehicles.

2. You treat all use of the vehicles by your employees as personal use.

3. You provide more than five vehicles for use by your employees, and you keep in your records the information on their use given to you by the employees.

4. For demonstrator automobiles provided to full-time salespersons, you maintain a written policy statement that limits the total mileage outside the salesperson's normal working hours and prohibits use of the automobile by anyone else, for vacation trips, or to store personal possessions.

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