Can I use the Section 179 Deduction for a Grand Wagoneer to reduce capital gains taxes?
I'm in the middle of a divorce and just sold several rental properties which has left me with about $320k in capital gains taxes to pay (that's just the tax, not the actual gain). Real estate investing is my main source of income, so I'm classified as an active investor. I'm trying to figure out how to minimize my tax burden before the year ends. So far, I've planned some generous donations to my local charity and church, and I already purchased a 2024 2500 HD Denali. I'm wondering if I should buy another vehicle for my out-of-state rental properties to keep on site there. I've been looking at a Grand Wagoneer, but I don't see it on any lists for Section 179 deductions. Does any vehicle over 6,000 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight qualify? Can I buy a 2024 model now in 2023 and still claim the deduction? If I purchase this additional vehicle specifically for my rental properties, could I write off/deduct up to 80% in the first year? For example, if I bought a $110k vehicle, would I be able to deduct $88k? And would that $88k directly reduce my $320k tax liability? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
18 comments


Jamal Washington
You've got some good tax planning ideas there, but let's clarify a few things about Section 179 deductions for vehicles. Yes, vehicles over 6,000 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) can qualify for Section 179 deduction, which would include the Grand Wagoneer (it's around 7,000 lbs GVWR). The key is that the vehicle must be used primarily (more than 50%) for business purposes. You can buy a 2024 model in 2023 and still claim the deduction in the year you place it in service (2023). But there are some important limitations to understand. For SUVs between 6,000-14,000 lbs, there's a cap of $28,900 (for 2023) that can be taken as a Section 179 deduction. This isn't 80% of the purchase price - it's a fixed limit. For the remaining value, you can still claim bonus depreciation on the business-use percentage. Remember that these deductions offset ordinary income, not capital gains directly. Capital gains are taxed differently than ordinary income, so while these deductions will reduce your overall tax liability, they won't directly reduce your capital gains tax dollar-for-dollar. Also, make sure you're documenting the business use carefully - mileage logs, business purpose, etc. The IRS tends to scrutinize vehicle deductions closely.
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Mei Wong
•Thanks for the detailed response! So if I understand correctly, I'm limited to deducting $28,900 for the SUV under Section 179, not 80% of the purchase price. Two follow-up questions: 1) What's the current bonus depreciation percentage for 2023? and 2) If these deductions don't directly offset capital gains, how exactly do they help reduce my overall tax liability?
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Jamal Washington
•For 2023, the bonus depreciation is 80% of the remaining business-use portion after applying the Section 179 deduction. So if you bought a $110k SUV used 100% for business, you could take $28,900 in Section 179, then claim 80% bonus depreciation on the remaining $81,100, which would be about $64,880 in additional first-year depreciation. The deductions help reduce your total taxable income, not specifically your capital gains. While they won't directly offset the capital gains tax, they reduce your overall tax liability by lowering your ordinary income. This can put you in a lower tax bracket overall, potentially resulting in significant savings. Remember though, when you eventually sell the vehicle, you may face depreciation recapture taxes if you sell it for more than its depreciated value.
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Liam Fitzgerald
I used taxr.ai to analyze my vehicle purchase options last year when I was in a similar situation with substantial capital gains. I uploaded my previous year's tax return and current year projections, and it gave me detailed recommendations for Section 179 and bonus depreciation strategies. https://taxr.ai actually showed me that I was better off putting some of my capital into qualified opportunity zones rather than just vehicle purchases. The analysis showed me precisely how much each deduction would affect my specific tax situation. For SUVs like the Grand Wagoneer, it confirmed the $28,900 Section 179 limit but then helped me calculate the exact impact of bonus depreciation on the remaining amount based on my mixed income sources (both capital gains and ordinary income). It also flagged potential audit risks with vehicle purchases right before tax time and gave me documentation recommendations to strengthen my position if questioned by the IRS.
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PixelWarrior
•Was it easy to use? I'm not super tech savvy but need to figure out my own investment property tax situation. Did you need to provide a lot of documentation or just basic info?
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Amara Adebayo
•I'm skeptical about these online tax tools. How accurate is it compared to actual accounting advice? I've heard horror stories about people getting audited after following online recommendations.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•It was surprisingly straightforward - you just upload existing tax documents or enter information manually. You don't need to be tech-savvy at all. The interface walks you through everything step by step, and if you already have last year's tax return, most of the work is done for you. I found it extremely accurate - it uses the same tax code and rules that accountants use, just automated. I actually had my CPA review the recommendations, and he was impressed with the detail and accuracy. The difference is that it can run hundreds of scenarios in seconds to find the optimal strategy for your specific situation, which would take days manually. The documentation it generates helps protect you in case of an audit, showing the legal basis for each deduction.
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PixelWarrior
I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and wow - it saved me so much headache with my own rental property tax situation! I was planning to buy a new truck for my business and thought I could deduct the whole thing. The tool showed me the actual Section 179 limits for my specific vehicle and calculated exactly how much I could legitimately deduct. What really surprised me was discovering that some of my rental properties qualified for cost segregation, which was a much bigger tax advantage than the vehicle purchase. I never would have known about this without the detailed analysis. The tool even generated all the documentation I needed for my tax preparer, who was impressed with how comprehensive it was. I'm definitely not tax-savvy, but this made the process super clear. Worth every penny for the peace of mind alone!
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Giovanni Rossi
If you're dealing with that much in capital gains taxes, you might want to consider how challenging it can be to actually get through to the IRS if you have questions or need to resolve issues. I used https://claimyr.com recently and it literally saved me weeks of frustration. I had been trying to reach the IRS about a similar real estate investment question regarding Section 179 deductions and kept hitting automated systems and disconnections. With Claimyr, I got through to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes who clarified my specific situation about vehicle deductions for rental properties. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent explained that for my out-of-state properties, I needed to maintain extremely detailed records of business use percentage, which was something none of the online guides mentioned. This one call potentially saved me from a major audit headache down the road.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•How does this actually work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS these days. Is this some kind of scam or do they actually help you get through?
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Amara Adebayo
•Yeah right. Sounds made up. I've tried calling the IRS dozens of times and NOBODY gets through. Plus, why would you trust some random service with your tax info? Hard pass.
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Giovanni Rossi
•It works by using technology that navigates the IRS phone system and holds your place in line. When they reach a human agent, you get a call back and are connected directly. It's not a scam - they never ask for any personal tax information, they just connect you to the IRS. They use the same public phone numbers anyone would call, but their system handles all the waiting and menu navigation. You don't share any tax details with them - they're just getting you past the hold times. Once you're connected with an actual IRS agent, the conversation is just between you and the IRS. I was skeptical too, but with tax season approaching and the size of my investment decisions, I couldn't afford to wait weeks trying to get answers.
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Amara Adebayo
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I tried that Claimyr service after commenting here, and it actually worked. I've been trying to reach the IRS for THREE MONTHS about my real estate investment questions and Section 179 deductions. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who explained that for the Grand Wagoneer specifically, I needed to be careful about business use documentation. She said they're flagging luxury SUVs for extra scrutiny this year, especially when purchased in December. She recommended keeping a dedicated mileage log app and taking photos of the vehicle at the business property locations. I'm still processing that I finally got a straight answer from a real person at the IRS after months of frustration. Honestly wish I had known about this sooner - would have saved me so much stress.
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Dylan Evans
Just wanted to add - don't forget about state implications. Section 179 is federal, but some states don't conform with federal bonus depreciation rules. I got hit with this last year when I bought a heavy SUV for my rental business in California but live in Texas. Make sure you're looking at both federal AND state tax impacts, especially with properties in different states.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•That's a great point I hadn't considered! Do you know which states typically don't conform with the federal rules? I have properties in Arizona and Florida besides my home state.
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Dylan Evans
•California is the big one that doesn't fully conform to federal bonus depreciation. Florida fully conforms to federal rules, which is good news for you. Arizona partially conforms but has some modifications - they spread the bonus depreciation over 5 years instead of taking it all upfront like the federal. For your situation with Arizona properties, you might not get the full depreciation benefit on your state return that you'd get on your federal return. This makes proper state tax planning really important when you have multiple properties across different states. I learned this the hard way and ended up with an unexpected state tax bill.
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Sofia Gomez
Everybody's talking about Section 179, but have you considered a 1031 exchange instead of paying those capital gains? I know you said it's part of a divorce situation which might complicate things, but did you already complete the sale or is it still in process?
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Unfortunately, the sales are already complete as part of the divorce settlement. I had to liquidate certain properties by court order, so a 1031 exchange wasn't possible in my situation. That's why I'm scrambling for other tax strategies now.
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