Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and Section 179

In order to address concerns regarding a slowing economy, President Bush asked Congress to come up with an Economic Stimulus Plan that will benefit both consumers and businesses, and Congress responded with a comprehensive economic stimulus package.

On February 13, 2008, President Bush signed H.R. 5140, otherwise known as the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. The Economic Stimulus Act immediately grabbed headlines because most Americans would receive a check for $600 from Uncle Sam. While the Economic Stimulus Act is a boon for consumers, there are significant benefits in the Economic Stimulus Act for businesses as well.

In fact, Small Business stands to benefit a great deal from the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. This is because the Section 179 Deduction limits have been generously increased, and small businesses across the country will reap the rewards.

How your business will benefit from the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
The Section 179 Deduction has been significantly enhanced by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, and has given businesses an incentive to invest in themselves by purchasing or leasing new equipment.

The specific impact the Economic Stimulus Act has had on the Section 179 deduction is related to the dollar limits of the deduction. The previous dollar limits were a $125,000 limit on the deduction and the total amount of equipment purchased could not exceed $500,000. The Economic Stimulus Act raise these limits significantly. The new deduction limits are $250,000 on the deduction, and the total amount of equipment purchased cannot exceed $800,000.

 

To recap the new limits:

2007 Deduction Limit: $125,000
2008 Deduction Limit: $250,000

2007 Total Amount of Equipment: $500,000
(deduction decreases dollar for dollar after reached)
2008 Total Amount of Equipment: $800,000
(deduction decreases dollar for dollar after reached)
 

Bonus Deduction

Another change that the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 brings to Section 179 is it offers a one-time “bonus first year depreciation” of 50% on qualifying equipment. This is after the above deduction limit is reached.

 

In other words, if you buy enough equipment to exceed the $250,000 deduction, you can take a “bonus” 50% depreciation on the rest – this is in addition to normal depreciation (Section 179 deduction chart).

Everyone Benefits

Most small and medium-size businesses will find these new dollar limits generous indeed. The Economic Stimulus Act is going to help consumers, and it will also significantly help most small businesses as well by lowering the cost of equipment that they need to purchase or lease to run their day-to-day operations. To see how much you can save, use this Section 179 tax calculator.

Act Now

As of this writing, this is a one-year increase. Unless it is extended, the older limits will go into effect for 2009, so if you want to take advantage of the higher limits, you need to act in 2008.