Business Vehicle Depreciation Calculator
Cars and light SUVs (6,000 lb GVWR or less) fall under the Section 280F "luxury auto" caps: a ceiling on total depreciation per year however large the price. Claiming bonus raises the first-year cap; a Section 179 election does not.
SUVs over 6,000 lb up to 14,000 lb escape the caps, but Section 179 on them is limited to a fixed cap of cost. Bonus depreciation is not subject to that cap, which is why it often deducts more.
Cargo vans, pickups with a 6 ft or longer bed, work trucks and anything over 14,000 lb have no caps at all, subject to business-use and income limits.
Section 179 and bonus both require more than 50% business use. At 50% or less you are limited to straight-line ADS over six tax years. Dropping to 50% or less in a later year can trigger recapture of deductions already taken. Keep a mileage log.
The standard mileage rate covers depreciation and running costs together and needs no election, but it cannot be combined with a first-year write-off. For a low-mileage expensive vehicle depreciation usually wins; for a cheap high-mileage one mileage often does.
Run your own numbers in the calculator. Related: mileage deduction method calculator.
No. It applies the published first-year limits to the numbers you type so you can compare write-off methods. Your return depends on facts it cannot see: placed-in-service date, GVWR from the door-jamb sticker, mid-quarter rules, state conformity and your other deductions. Confirm with a tax professional.
The defaults are the 2025 placed-in-service figures: the Section 280F passenger-car caps, the Section 179 cap for SUVs over 6,000 lb, and the 70 cent standard mileage rate. The IRS republishes them each year, so every limit is editable in the CLI and the page shows an as-of line.
For a car or light SUV under 6,000 lb, the Section 179 deduction counts inside the lower no-bonus first-year cap, while claiming bonus raises that cap. On an over-6,000 lb SUV the reverse can matter: Section 179 is capped but bonus is not.
No. The page calculates in your browser and sends nothing. The CLI reads local files and makes no network call.