17 Dec Time is wasting for businesses to get tax deductions thanks to a slow Congress

by Gail Rosen, CPA

Today a client called me, saying that he heard that the Section 179 deduction of the IRS tax code passed the Senate. The deduction would allow him to purchase the equipment he wants for his business and write it all off in the year he bought it, or 2014.

He now has only two weeks left to go and buy the equipment he wants before year-end. The 179 depreciation tax code that was passed only covers 2014, and he was afraid that he might not get the same tax incentive in 2015. After reviewing his situation, I gave him the okay to purchase the equipment, because it is pretty certain that the President will sign the bill for 2014.

The 179 Section of the IRS code that allows a business to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying tangible property in the year purchased is an “incentive” for businesses to help them purchase the assets they need.

My question is: If this section of the law is an “incentive” for businesses to purchase assets and stimulate the economy, how can this be passed at the end of December?

Holding out on tax laws until the last minute makes it very hard to do tax planning. We accountants are constantly telling clients that certain business moves will work from a tax perspective — if (and it’s a big “if”) the government passes the tax laws as we expect.

I hope that maybe the government moves sooner on passing the tax laws for 2015. Waiting until the end of December is very frustrating for businesses and their accountants.

Gail Rosen is a Martinsville-based certified public accountant. She can be reached at  or (732) 469-4202.

This story was first posted in December 2014.

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