IRC §168 · 26 U.S.C. §168
IRC §168: Accelerated Cost Recovery (MACRS and Bonus)
IRC §168 is MACRS — 3-to-39-year recovery lives with 200% declining balance — plus bonus depreciation, which OBBBA restored to permanent 100%. The timing machine of business taxation.
What it governs
- GDS lives: 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 27.5, and 39 years by asset class
- 200% declining balance over GDS (150% for longer lived, straight-line for realty)
- Bonus depreciation: permanent 100% for qualifying property under OBBBA
- Listed property (vehicles, computers) needs documented business-use percentage
In the GuideFull treatment in Chapter 5 of the Guide (principal treatment) and Chapter 12 — THE TAX CUTTERY® Guide to Federal Income Taxation, Professional Edition (564 pages, 24 chapters).
Related sectionsIRC §167 — the allowance §168 computes · IRC §179 — the expensing election that runs first
From the practiceStart the consultation — Paul on video, one question at a time →
Questions this section answers
- What is bonus depreciation now?
- Permanent 100% first-year writeoff for qualifying new and used property with lives of 20 years or less — OBBBA ended the TCJA phase-down. Long-production property and certain plants follow their own tables.
- MACRS or §179 — which first?
- §179 first (up to its indexed cap and income limit), bonus on the remainder, MACRS on what’s left. Stacking order matters because §179 is capped and income-limited while bonus is neither.
- How fast can I write off a work truck?
- Heavy SUVs and trucks over 6,000 pounds GVWR: 100% bonus in year one (business-use percentage applies). Lighter vehicles hit the §280F luxury caps instead — the weight line is the whole planning point.
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The Guide treats 149 Code sections across 24 chapters — every claim verified against primary sources.
Get the Guide — $299