September 18, 2019

Bonus Depreciation Regulations





The IRS bonus depreciation regulations, just released by the IRS, contain a crucial clarification. Qualified improvement property (QIP) placed in service after 2017 isn’t eligible for bonus depreciation unless a legislative change is made. When drafting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress intended a permanent 15-year depreciation period for QIP. That change would have made such property eligible for bonus depreciation in years after the TCJA took effect. Unfortunately, due to a drafting error, QIP wasn’t added to the list of property with a 15-year depreciation period. So unless this problem is fixed, QIP is subject to a 39-year depreciation period and ineligible for bonus depreciation.