Is that viral TikTok about tax write offs for 6,000+ pound SUVs actually legit? Are the tax savings really that big?

This is actually legitimate but with some important qualifications that TikTok videos often gloss over. What you're referring to is the Section 179 deduction combined with bonus depreciation. For 2025, businesses can deduct up to $1,160,000 in qualifying equipment purchases (including vehicles) under Section 179. For vehicles over 6,000 pounds GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), often called "heavy SUVs" in tax circles, they're exempt from the luxury auto depreciation limits that apply to smaller vehicles. The math can work out, but remember: you must use the vehicle for business purposes to take the deduction, and you can only deduct the business-use percentage. So if you use that $80,000 Escalade 70% for business and 30% personally, you can only deduct 70% of the cost. Also, bonus depreciation is 80% for 2025 (down from 100% in previous years), meaning you can deduct 80% of the remaining business portion immediately, with the rest depreciated over several years.

After spending hours trying to figure out these vehicle deduction rules for my construction business, I found this tool called taxr.ai that completely simplified everything. I uploaded my vehicle info and it analyzed exactly how much I could write off based on my business percentage use. The thing that was helpful is it looks at the actual GVWR specs for different models - turns out my F-150 was just over the 6,000 pound threshold which I didn't realize. It also calculated the different options between taking Section 179, bonus depreciation, or regular depreciation over time. I'm going with the SUV route now because the numbers made way more sense for my tax situation. You can check it out at https://taxr.ai - honestly was better than my tax guy at explaining the options.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my vehicle situation. I was really skeptical at first, but it actually provided way more detailed analysis than I expected. I'm planning to buy a new GMC Yukon for my consulting business, and the tool broke down exactly how the weight classification affects my tax benefits. What really helped was seeing the year-by-year tax impact of different depreciation strategies. Taking Section 179 upfront gives huge first-year savings but choosing regular depreciation might be better for my specific tax situation long-term. It even flagged that I need to maintain business use above 50% for the entire recovery period or face depreciation recapture. The documentation it generated was super comprehensive - I'm bringing it to my meeting with my CPA next week. Definitely clarified the actual rules beyond what those oversimplified TikTok videos show.

If you're spending time on hold with the IRS trying to verify these vehicle deduction rules (I tried three times and kept getting disconnected), use Claimyr instead. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed all the Section 179 requirements. The agent verified that yes, vehicles above 6,000 pounds GVWR do qualify for the larger deductions if used for business, but told me there are specific documentation requirements I would have missed. I tried calling for two days straight on my own and couldn't get through. With https://claimyr.com they called, navigated the prompts, waited on hold, and then connected me when a real person answered. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - totally worth it instead of wasting hours listening to that awful hold music.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was getting nowhere with the IRS on my own. I needed clarification about Section 179 for my real estate business vehicle purchase, and the IRS kept disconnecting me after 1+ hour holds. Used the service this morning and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. The IRS rep confirmed that the 6,000+ pound vehicle deduction is legitimate but warned me about a bunch of documentation requirements I wouldn't have known about. She also explained that if I sell the vehicle before 5 years, I might have to pay back some of the deduction through "recapture." I was wrong - sometimes it's worth paying for a service when it saves you hours of frustration. The information I got was actually different from what my tax preparer told me, so it potentially saved me from an expensive mistake.

Don't forget the business mileage logs!! I bought a Chevy Tahoe last year for my business (it's over 6,000 pounds), took the big deduction, and got audited. Even though the vehicle qualified and I genuinely used it mostly for business, I lost most of the deduction because my mileage logs weren't detailed enough. The IRS wanted: - Start and end odometer readings - Specific business purpose for EACH trip - Dates and destinations - Client names when applicable Just having a percentage estimate of business use wasn't enough. They disallowed a huge portion of my deduction because I couldn't substantiate it with proper documentation.

I just bought a Mercedes GLS (which is over 6,000 pounds) specifically because of this tax break. My accountant ran the numbers and confirmed I'll save about $22,000 in taxes this year by taking advantage of Section 179 and bonus depreciation. But a warning - you need to use it MORE THAN 50% for business! That's the minimum threshold. Also, to maximize the deduction, I had to put the vehicle in service before December 31st. Just signing the papers wasn't enough - I had to actually start using it for business purposes before year-end.