[Leica] TAX question: Should I buy an M10?

[Ken Carney]

If you can take delivery by December 31 (the "placed in service" rule), 
you should be OK with a Schedule C deduction for the gear. This would be 
either by electing to expense it under Sec. 179, or 100% bonus 
depreciation for purchases after 9/27/17.  The Sec. 179 election is 
limited to $500,000 of gear and doesn't apply after $2 million of 
purchases (amounts no doubt crafted with Leica gear in mind).  The Sec. 
179 deduction also can't cause a loss on your Schedule C.

Schedule A is for business deductions as an employee and wouldn't come 
into play.  Also consider that if you have an even bigger book in 2018 
and jump into another bracket, a 2018 purchase might be better.  A 
crystal ball is needed here.

Ken

On 12/27/2017 11:09 AM, kyle cassidy on the lug wrote:
> Hi folks —
>
> I’m probably not alone in not understanding the implications of the new tax bill.
>
> I wasn’t planning on buying an M10 this year, but possibly sometime in the coming year, maybe who knows, I’m doing ok with my M240’s. I had a book do well and as a result I’ve a fat chunk of change sitting in the bank but I’m concerned by all the armchair tax advisors on Facebook saying that small business deductions are going away after this year.
>
> I file a 1040 as well as a schedule C.
>
> The Washington Post’s article “5 things to do before Jan 1 to lower your tax bill” advised professionals to buy all their high end purchases now. But I’m not sure if they’re talking about Schedule A or Schedule C.
>
> Does anybody with actual understanding of this know if I’ll still be able to deduct equipment expenses that I make next year, or should I blow through all this money on gear I’ll need for the future this year?
>
> That said, replace the Dlux-4 with a type 109? yes? or don’t bother?
>
> thanks for your time & expertise —
>
> Kyle
>
>
>
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