Estimate your first-year write-off and tax savings on business vehicles, trucks, and equipment under Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation for 2026 (OBBBA). Handles the heavy-SUV cap and passenger-auto luxury limits. Instant, private, fully validated.
First-year depreciation & tax savings (2026)
Section 179 lets a business deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and vehicles in the year you place them in service, instead of depreciating over 5–7 years. For 2026 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) raised the Section 179 limit to $2,500,000 (phasing out dollar-for-dollar once purchases exceed $4,000,000) and made 100% bonus depreciation permanent for assets placed in service after January 19, 2025.
The big catch is vehicles. A heavy SUV (GVWR 6,000–14,000 lb) caps the Section 179 portion at about $31,300 — but 100% bonus depreciation then covers the rest, so you can still write off the full business-use cost in year one. A passenger auto under 6,000 lb is hit by the "luxury auto" limits, capping your first-year deduction near $20,400, with the remainder spread over later years. Equipment, machinery, and heavy trucks/cargo vans have no SUV cap.
Machinery and qualifying trucks/vans can be deducted 100% in year one via §179 + bonus, up to the limits.
§179 is capped (~$31,300) for 6,000–14,000 lb SUVs, but 100% bonus covers the remainder.
Cars under 6,000 lb GVWR are capped near $20,400 the first year — the rest depreciates over time.
The asset must be bought and actually in use by Dec 31 — not just ordered or paid for.
The Section 179 deduction is one of the most powerful year-end tax moves for American small businesses — and searches for the vehicle tax write-off, the 6,000 lb GVWR vehicle list, and bonus depreciation 2026 spike every fourth quarter. Thanks to the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, businesses can now expense up to $2.5 million of equipment and write off 100% of qualifying purchases in year one. This Section 179 calculator shows your first-year deduction and the actual tax it saves on trucks, vans, SUVs, machinery, and equipment placed in service in 2026.
The big question for U.S. contractors, realtors, and rideshare drivers is whether a vehicle qualifies. Heavy SUVs over 6,000 lb GVWR (Suburban, Tahoe, Escalade, G-Wagon) and qualifying work trucks can be fully written off via Section 179 plus 100% bonus depreciation, while passenger cars under 6,000 lb are capped near $20,400 the first year. Enter your cost, business-use percentage, and tax bracket to see exactly where you land.
A general contractor buys an $80,000 work truck used 100% for business. Because it qualifies for Section 179 plus 100% bonus depreciation, the full $80,000 is written off in year one. At a combined 32% tax rate, that is about $25,600 in first-year tax savings. A $70,000 passenger sedan, by contrast, would be capped near $20,400 the first year under the luxury-auto rules.
Small business owners, contractors, real-estate agents, landscapers, truckers, farmers, medical and dental practices, and the self-employed buying business vehicles, machinery, or equipment in the United States before the December 31 placed-in-service deadline.