Decent primer.
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You can’t use Sec 179 for used vehicles. Your accountant can walk you through it.
It’s also been discussed lots
Thanks! I’ll check that out.
For some reason when I first searched it on the forum I couldn’t find anything.
The TCJA changed that - you can 179 used property, so long as the taxpayer in question never used such property before in the business–this allows businesses to buy used equipment and still 179 it.
That said, I think there is also a $25k limit on SUVs for 179 purposes–the slides I linked to discuss both of these points.
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Good to know, thanks
Yeah it’s not the windfall it seems at first glance. This is where I usually say (old man soapbox): I’ve been leasing since 2004 and self-employed in some form since 2007. I have done the math on this every lease since 2007, and the numbers never favor a 179 purchase for me. The old “spending a dollar to save $0.30” would be more practical for my scenarios.
It definitely makes sense for some, but if your goal is to say 30% on a RR Sport or a Bentayga, those 
days are gone.
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Returning to one of OP’s original statements that it seems a lot of “wealthy people” buy these vehicles - sometimes the answer is just that simple: they are wealthy.
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If you keep it for over a year, the it’s tax as a capital gain, so at least a lower rate.
Not on recapture.
I was hoping to purchase a used G wagon. Use the Turo app to help offset the cost of owning one. Could prob rent it for maybe 8 days a month and that would help offset the cost of owning. Which may in theory still work. But then once I heard about section 179 was hopeful it would also help me get to a lower tax liability for the year so it would
Be a no brainer. I’m aware I would also
Have to pay for maintenance and insurance fees etc on the car so it isnt a total win win. But figured it may be a way to own an additional car without costing me too much throughout the year.
I have done it multiple times with passenger cars and trucks. In past, you WERE able to avoid the recapture tax temporarily by “trade-in” under previous tax laws but not after the recent changes in 2017. There are not-so-kosher ways to avoid recapture tax but this is not the time and place for it.
Regarding you comment “I will just open a business”…your start up needs to show income to be able to use section 179. in other words, you can’t start a company that doesn’t show adequate income and deduct 160k for a G-wagon from your W2 income.
Another good point, your don’t have to purchase a brand new vehicle to qualify for section 179, it only has to be a new vehicle to you. also it doesn’t necessarily have to be above 6k lbs, passenger vehicles still have favorable section 179 deduction rules.
You also really don’t want to bifurcate personal and business use and count every mile, just in case you ever get audited. I lecture people on this all the time who think that driving to and from work isn’t “personal use.”
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Ahh ok. Thanks.
Ask your tax accountant.