Buying a truck for Schedule C business and claiming bonus depreciation for 2025 taxes

You're on the right track with bonus depreciation, but there are some important details to understand. For 2025, bonus depreciation is at 80% (not 100% like previous years). This means your mom can immediately deduct 80% of the business-use portion of the truck in year one. Since the F-150 exceeds 6,000 lbs GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), it qualifies as "heavy SUV" for tax purposes, which means it's not subject to the luxury auto depreciation limits. However, she needs to use the truck at least 50% for business to claim this deduction. For a $43,000 truck used 100% for business, she could potentially deduct around $34,400 (80% of purchase price) in the first year. The remaining 20% ($8,600) would be depreciated over several years using regular MACRS depreciation schedules, not all in the second year.

After reading through this thread, I wanted to share my experience with business vehicle depreciation. I was in a similar situation last year and was struggling to understand the tax implications for my small courier business. I found this tool at https://taxr.ai that helped me analyze exactly how much I could depreciate for my vehicle purchase. I uploaded my purchase documents and business records, and it showed me precisely what deductions I qualified for based on vehicle weight, business use percentage, and current depreciation rules. Saved me from making a costly mistake on my Schedule C.

Just wanted to update that I tried the taxr.ai tool that was mentioned. I was definitely skeptical at first (as you could tell from my question), but it was actually super helpful for my situation. I have a photography business and bought a vehicle last month that qualifies as a heavy SUV. The tool correctly identified that I could take 80% bonus depreciation this year and gave me a full schedule for depreciating the rest over the coming years. It also warned me about potential recapture issues if I sell the vehicle before the end of its useful life, which I hadn't even considered. Definitely made me feel more confident about claiming the right deduction on my Schedule C.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about Schedule C vehicle depreciation, you might want to try calling the IRS directly. I know it sounds awful, but I used https://claimyr.com and got through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a specific question about documented business mileage requirements when claiming bonus depreciation, and the agent walked me through exactly what records I needed to keep. Definitely worth it for getting those official answers straight from the source.

I have to eat my words. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr on a whim because I've been trying to get clarification on a Section 179 vs. bonus depreciation question for my business vehicle for weeks. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent explained that in my specific situation (part-time business use of a heavy SUV), I was better off using bonus depreciation rather than Section 179 due to some income limitations that would have affected my deduction. Would have made an expensive mistake on my taxes without that clarification. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet is Section 179 as an alternative to bonus depreciation. For 2025, you can potentially deduct up to $1,190,000 under Section 179 (though there are phase-out thresholds based on total equipment purchases). For heavy vehicles like your mom's truck (over 6,000 lbs), Section 179 might be more advantageous depending on your other business purchases this year and overall business income. The main difference is that Section 179 is limited by your business income, while bonus depreciation can create or increase a loss.

Don't forget about keeping a mileage log if the truck isn't 100% business use! The IRS is super strict about this. I had a friend who got audited and couldn't prove business use percentage for his truck, and the IRS disallowed a huge chunk of his depreciation deduction. I use a simple app that tracks my trips and lets me categorize them as business or personal. Makes it easy to show the exact percentage at tax time.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure your mom considers the timing of the purchase carefully. The truck needs to be "placed in service" (actually used for business) by December 31st, 2025 to qualify for the 2025 tax year deductions. Also, since she's financing most of the purchase, she can still claim depreciation on the full purchase price, not just the amount she's paying out of pocket. The $10,500 trade-in value gets subtracted from the purchase price for depreciation purposes, so she'd be depreciating $32,500 ($43,000 - $10,500) if used 100% for business. One more thing - if her landscaping business has been profitable and she expects it to continue being profitable, the immediate deduction from bonus depreciation could be really valuable for reducing her current tax liability. But if she's expecting much higher income in future years, she might want to consider spreading the deduction out more evenly.

Great discussion here! As someone who's helped several small business owners navigate vehicle depreciation, I wanted to add a few practical considerations for your mom's situation. Since she's in landscaping, make sure to document not just mileage but also how the truck is used for business - hauling equipment, transporting materials to job sites, etc. This strengthens the business use justification beyond just driving miles. Also, with a seasonal landscaping business, consider the cash flow impact. While the 80% bonus depreciation ($26,000 as Marcus calculated) gives a great tax deduction this year, it means much smaller depreciation deductions in future years. If her business has good years and lean years, timing this large deduction during a profitable year makes sense. One last tip - if she's considering any other equipment purchases (trailer, mower, etc.), coordinate the timing since the total Section 179 and bonus depreciation deductions can impact her overall tax strategy. Sometimes spreading major purchases across tax years works better for cash flow and tax planning.