Land Rover Tax Break: Section 179 Weight Rule and Limits

If you buy a Land Rover rated above 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and use it more than half the time for business, the Section 179 deduction lets you write off up to $31,300 of the purchase price in the first year, and 100% bonus depreciation can cover most or all of the rest. Your Section 179 portion is capped at your business’s taxable income for the year, but bonus depreciation is not. The Land Rover Section 179 deduction is available for new, used, financed, and leased vehicles, provided the weight, business-use, and documentation requirements are met.

The 6,000-Pound Weight Rule

The IRS treats four-wheeled vehicles rated at 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less as “passenger automobiles,” which are subject to strict annual depreciation caps.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 280F – Limitation on Depreciation for Luxury Automobiles A passenger automobile placed in service in 2026 with bonus depreciation is capped at $20,300 in the first year.2Internal Revenue Service. Rev Proc 2026-15 On a $90,000 SUV, that is a small deduction.

Once the GVWR clears 6,000 pounds, the vehicle falls outside the passenger automobile definition. The luxury caps drop away and the much larger Section 179 and bonus depreciation rules apply.

GVWR is not curb weight. It is the maximum total weight the vehicle is engineered to carry, including passengers, cargo, and fuel. Look for it on the certification label inside the driver’s side door jamb, or in the owner’s manual. A vehicle can weigh less than 6,000 pounds empty and still qualify because its GVWR is higher.

What You Can Deduct in 2026

Two provisions do the work. Section 179 lets you immediately expense qualifying business property instead of depreciating it over years. For SUVs rated between 6,000 and 14,000 pounds GVWR, the Section 179 deduction is capped at $31,300.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 179 – Election to Expense Certain Depreciable Business Assets

Bonus depreciation covers the rest. Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill signed in 2025, qualifying business property placed in service after January 19, 2025, gets 100% first-year bonus depreciation.4Internal Revenue Service. One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions Stacked together, the two provisions can write off the full purchase price of a qualifying Land Rover in the year you place it in service.

An example. You buy a Range Rover for $110,000 and use it 100% for business. You claim $31,300 under Section 179 and apply 100% bonus depreciation to the remaining $78,700. First-year deduction: $110,000. If business use is 80%, everything scales to 80%, for a deduction of $88,000.

The Business Income Limit

Your Section 179 deduction cannot exceed the taxable income from all your active businesses combined.5eCFR. 26 CFR 1.179-2 – Limitations on Amount Subject to Section 179 Election If your business nets $25,000 and you elect $31,300 under Section 179, only $25,000 lands this year and the remaining $6,300 carries forward. Bonus depreciation is not subject to this cap and can create or increase a net operating loss.

Which Land Rovers Clear the Threshold

Most current Land Rover models exceed 6,000 pounds GVWR. Manufacturer spec sheets for 2025 models show:

Do not rely on marketing pages or configurators. Check the certification label on the driver’s door jamb of the specific vehicle you are buying. Lighter trims and some four-cylinder configurations can sit close to the line, and a few hundred pounds is the difference between a $31,300 first-year Section 179 deduction and a $20,300 luxury auto cap.

Business Use Has to Exceed 50%

Weight alone doesn’t unlock the deduction. The vehicle must be used more than 50% for business during the tax year.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 179 – Election to Expense Certain Depreciable Business Assets At 49% or below, the Section 179 election is lost for the year. There is no partial credit at that threshold.

Commuting from home to your regular workplace is personal use, not business use, regardless of distance.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses Driving from your office to a client site, a job location, or a second business location does qualify. If you have a legitimate home office that is your principal place of business, drives from home to client meetings can count.

Above 50%, the deduction scales to whatever percentage you actually use for business, and both the Section 179 amount and bonus depreciation scale together. The IRS expects documentation to support the percentage you claim.

New, Used, Financed, and Leased Vehicles

Section 179 applies to both new and used vehicles as long as the vehicle is new to your business. A certified pre-owned Range Rover Sport is just as eligible as a new one, provided it meets the weight and use requirements. Financing does not change the deduction: you write off the full purchase price, not just the down payment or the payments made during the year.

Leased vehicles also qualify. The lessee claims the deduction based on the vehicle’s cost, under the same SUV cap and business-use rules. Because you are deducting an asset you don’t own, it’s worth running the lease structure past a tax professional before signing.

Records and Filing

A mileage log is the foundation. Record the date, destination, business purpose, and miles for every business trip. Automatic tracking apps are worth the small cost; reconstructing a year of driving from memory during an audit tends to go badly.

Also keep:

  • The sale contract showing total price, sales tax, and delivery fees, which set your cost basis.
  • The date the vehicle was placed in service, meaning the day it was available and ready for business use, which may not be the purchase date.
  • A photo of the door jamb certification label or a copy of the manufacturer’s spec sheet confirming GVWR above 6,000 pounds.

Report the deduction on IRS Form 4562, which handles depreciation, amortization, and Section 179 elections.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 4562 Attach it to your business return: Schedule C on Form 1040 for sole proprietors, Form 1120 for C corporations, or Form 1065 for partnerships.10Internal Revenue Service. Form 4562 – Depreciation and Amortization

Recapture When You Sell or Cut Business Use

Section 179 is an accelerated benefit, not a permanent one. If you sell the vehicle, gain up to the amount of depreciation you previously claimed is taxed as ordinary income rather than at capital gains rates.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 1245 – Gain From Dispositions of Certain Depreciable Property Write off $80,000 in depreciation, then sell the vehicle for $50,000, and that entire $50,000 is ordinary income. Trading vehicles every two or three years while claiming full Section 179 deductions builds a tax bill most buyers don’t budget for.

The other trigger is a drop in business use. If your business-use percentage falls to 50% or below in any year after you claimed the deduction, you must recapture the excess depreciation, adding back income equal to the difference between what you deducted and what straight-line depreciation would have allowed. Recapture is reported on Form 4797. Converting the vehicle entirely to personal use triggers the same calculation.

The safer path is to hold the vehicle, keep business use above 50% for its full depreciable life, and plan for the tax consequences before any sale or trade-in.