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There was some small business tax relief by way of the economic stimulus plan. This relief helped business expense certain equipment and other items and take a more generous depreciation schedule. The purpose of this relief was to help businesses whether the tough economic times and get back to the business of providing employment opportunities and growing the economy.
Section 179
Section 179 of the Emergency Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 provided relief for small businesses. The provision allowed for the expensing of the purchase of equipment and a special depreciation allowance. These were additional items designed specifically to help small businesses.
Depreciating Section 179 Expenses
Under the act, small businesses were permitted to expense the cost of business related property up to $250,000 in value. This was almost more than double the previous limit of $128,000. Property included machinery, equipment, computers and other business-related items. After taking the Section 179 expense, a business was also permitted to depreciate up to 50 percent of the value of these items. This allowed businesses to take an additional expense write-off for the acquisition of necessary equipment. This allowed businesses to have additional dollars to reinvest or use to expand and grow, benefitting the economy.
