Section 179 Deduction for Vehicles: Limits, Weight Classes, and Bonus

A business that buys a vehicle used more than 50% for work can expense a large share of its cost in the first year under the Section 179 deduction for vehicles. For 2026, the ceiling depends on the vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating. Passenger cars and light vehicles at or below 6,000 pounds are capped at $20,300 in total first-year depreciation. Heavy SUVs and trucks above 6,000 but not more than 14,000 pounds get a $32,000 Section 179 cap, with 100% bonus depreciation available on the balance. Vehicles over 14,000 pounds are limited only by the general Section 179 ceiling of $2,560,000.¹²

What Your Vehicle Can Deduct in 2026

The dividing line is gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), printed on the manufacturer’s compliance label on the driver’s side door jamb or door edge. Section 280F uses that number to separate “passenger automobiles” from heavier vehicles, and the difference in first-year deductions runs into the tens of thousands.³

Passenger Cars and Light Vehicles (6,000 Pounds or Less)

Vehicles at or below 6,000 pounds fall under the luxury auto caps in Section 280F regardless of what the vehicle actually cost. For 2026, the maximum total first-year depreciation is $20,300 when bonus depreciation applies, or $12,300 when it does not.¹ That cap covers Section 179, bonus depreciation, and regular MACRS depreciation combined. A $55,000 sedan used 100% for business still tops out at $20,300 in year one.

Heavy SUVs and Trucks (Over 6,000 but Not More Than 14,000 Pounds)

This is where the deduction becomes substantial. Vehicles above 6,000 pounds escape the passenger automobile caps but carry their own Section 179 ceiling of $32,000 for tax years beginning in 2026.² Whatever cost remains after Section 179 is eligible for bonus depreciation.

Take an $80,000 SUV with a 7,200-pound GVWR used entirely for business. You claim $32,000 under Section 179, leaving $48,000 of basis. With 100% bonus depreciation in effect for 2026, you deduct that $48,000 as well, writing off the full $80,000 in year one.

Heavy-duty pickups with a cargo bed at least six feet long that is not easily accessible from the passenger compartment are treated as trucks rather than passenger automobiles, so they qualify for the larger deduction regardless of other styling. Ambulances, hearses, and vehicles used in a business that transports people or property for hire bypass the weight test entirely.³

Vehicles Over 14,000 Pounds

Vehicles over 14,000 pounds GVWR are exempt from all vehicle-specific caps. The only limit is the general Section 179 ceiling, which for 2026 is $2,560,000.⁴ Most box trucks, heavy commercial vehicles, and equipment haulers sit here.

Both new and used vehicles qualify, as long as the vehicle is new to your business. A two-year-old truck from a dealer works the same as a factory order.

The 50% Business Use Rule

The vehicle must be used more than 50% for business in the year you place it in service. Drop to 50% or below and you lose Section 179 and bonus depreciation entirely.

Proof comes from a contemporaneous mileage log, recorded as trips happen rather than reconstructed at year-end. The IRS expects each entry to show the date, destination, business purpose, and odometer readings at the start and end of the trip.⁵ Commuting between home and a regular office is personal mileage and cannot count toward the business percentage.

That percentage then scales your deduction. A $70,000 truck used 80% for business has a depreciable basis of $56,000. At 55% business use, the basis falls to $38,500. Every point matters at these dollar amounts.

How 100% Bonus Depreciation Stacks With Section 179

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on August 5, 2025, permanently restored 100% first-year bonus depreciation for qualifying property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. For vehicles placed in service in 2026, the bonus rate is 100% with no scheduled reduction.

For heavy vehicles above 6,000 pounds GVWR, bonus depreciation absorbs whatever Section 179 does not. The $32,000 cap used to leave a sizable chunk of a heavy vehicle’s cost to depreciate over several years. Now, a qualifying heavy vehicle used 100% for business can be fully expensed in year one regardless of its purchase price.

For passenger automobiles, the impact is more modest. The $20,300 total first-year ceiling under Section 280F includes both Section 179 and bonus depreciation, so the 100% rate does not break through it.¹ A $45,000 sedan still caps at $20,300.

You can elect to take 40% bonus depreciation instead of 100% if you want to spread deductions across future years. That election applies to all qualifying property placed in service during the year, not just vehicles, so it affects other equipment too.

What Happens if Business Use Drops Later

The 50% test does not end after year one. If business use falls to 50% or below in any year of the vehicle’s recovery period (typically five years for cars and light trucks), you trigger depreciation recapture. You calculate the difference between what you deducted under Section 179 and what the straight-line method would have allowed, and report that difference as ordinary income.⁶ The calculation runs through Part IV of Form 4797, and the recaptured amount lands back on the schedule where you originally took the deduction.⁷

This is not an added penalty. It is the reversal of a deduction you were not entitled to keep. It still hurts, though, especially if you expensed $30,000 or more in year one and have to add a large piece back as income two years later. Keeping the mileage log current through the full recovery period is the only protection. If the IRS audits and you cannot prove business use exceeded 50% in a given year, they will treat it as having dropped below.

The Standard Mileage Trade-Off

Claiming Section 179 on a vehicle permanently locks you out of the standard mileage rate for that vehicle in any future year. The IRS treats the two methods as mutually exclusive: once you take Section 179 or bonus depreciation, you use the actual expense method for as long as you own the vehicle.⁸ If your actual costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation) end up lower than the standard mileage rate would produce, you cannot switch back. Run the numbers both ways before electing.

The Business Income Limitation

Section 179 cannot exceed your taxable income from the active conduct of a trade or business for the year. A business that nets $25,000 and tries to deduct $32,000 under Section 179 is limited to $25,000. The unused $7,000 is not lost; it carries forward to the next year, subject to the same income limitation.⁴

Startups and first-year businesses are the ones usually caught by this. Bonus depreciation, by contrast, has no taxable income cap and can create or deepen a net operating loss. For some buyers, leaning on bonus depreciation rather than Section 179 produces a better first-year outcome.

Leased Vehicles

Section 179 requires ownership. A standard operating lease does not make the vehicle your asset, and you cannot expense its cost. You can still deduct the business portion of lease payments as an operating expense. A capital or finance lease, where you take on the risks and rewards of ownership and the vehicle sits on your balance sheet, may be treated as a purchase and could qualify. The structure of the agreement controls, not what it is called.

Reporting It on Form 4562

The deduction is reported on Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization, attached to your business return. Vehicles are “listed property,” so they go in Part V rather than the general depreciation sections.⁹

In Part V, Section A, enter the make, model, and date placed in service. Business use percentage goes in Column (c). The Section 179 amount goes in Column (i). The Column (i) total flows to Line 29 and then to Line 7 in Part I, where it combines with any Section 179 claimed on other property.⁹

Where it lands on your return depends on entity type. Sole proprietors transfer depreciation to Line 13 of Schedule C.¹⁰ C corporations report on Form 1120, S corporations on Form 1120-S. Partnerships pass the deduction through to partners on Schedule K-1 rather than claim it at the entity level.

State Taxes May Not Follow

Not every state conforms to federal Section 179. Some states cap the deduction well below the federal limit, with some allowing as little as $25,000. Others decouple from federal bonus depreciation entirely, so a vehicle you fully expense on your federal return may have to be depreciated over several years on your state return. Check your state’s conformity rules before you assume the federal deduction flows straight through.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2026-15
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 946 (2025), How to Depreciate Property
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 280F – Limitation on Depreciation for Luxury Automobiles; Limitation Where Certain Property Used for Personal Purposes
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 179 – Election to Expense Certain Depreciable Business Assets
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
6
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 4797 – Sales of Business Property
7
Internal Revenue Service. Form 4797 – Sales of Business Property
8
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 510, Business Use of Car
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 4562 (2025)
10
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040)