As we come to the end of a year it is time to strategize for the year to come. As your business evolves, make sure your technology infrastructure is still able to efficiently support you in reaching your goals. After a year as transformative as 2020, it might be time to consider buying, or leasing new equipment or software. If you are a small or medium business, you may be able to leverage the section 179 tax break to help improve your technology infrastructure.

Create A Plan for Upgrading

Don’t be seduced by the cost savings of the tax break, and just start upgrading devices or software because you can. Here at 10D, we work with our clients to ensure that they have a vision for what their perfect IT infrastructure would be. Every purchase you make should be contributing toward the realization of that vision. We don’t want you wasting money on lateral purchases that won’t bring you closer to your goal.

If you aren’t sure what your goal for the perfect IT infrastructure should look like, reach out to us. We can do a rapid assessment with you to help generate a baseline of where your current system is and identify any gaps between where you are at and where best practice says you should be. Book a intro call and rapid assessment with us today.

How to Use Section 179

1. Section 179 can be used for more than you might think.

If you use something for your business, chances are it is qualified. Wherever general equipment depreciates there is a good chance you can write it under section 179. This would include devices like desktops, laptops, phones, and other technological equipment you utilize.

2. Section 179 also permits an Equipment Lease or Equipment Finance Agreement.

If you aren’t ready to put up the capital to fully upgrade or buy new devices or software, you can look into financing or leasing. Section 179 allows you to write off the entire amount you will be paying even if you haven’t spent it by December 31st, 2020. Pursuing the option of a structured equipment lease or financing allows you to write off the entire amount of upgrade for only a fraction of the cost.

3. December 31st is a firm deadline.

You can only use Section 179 on expenses that occurred during the 2020. This means you need to have the software or equipment in use by midnight on December 31st, 2020 to take advantage of the deduction. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

4. The Section 179 is not an automatic deduction.

You must elect to take the deduction by filling out Part 1 of IRS form 4562. You can work with your accountant to make sure you are correctly filing to take advantage of this deduction.

Here at 10D, we might not be able to help you file your taxes, but we can help make the planning and implantation of device or software upgrades seamless. Book a call and let us get you set up for 2021 and beyond.

* Please note that this blog post is intended for general information and not intended to be professional tax advice. To learn more about the Section 179 tax deduction, please refer to irs.gov and section179.org.