Buy It This Year. Deduct It This Year.
Section 179 lets your business deduct up to $2,560,000 of qualifying equipment on your 2026 taxes, instead of depreciating it over five or seven years. Financed equipment typically qualifies, so you can take the deduction now and spread the payments out.
Equipment must be placed in service by December 31, 2026Whole dollars, $10,000 to $1,000,000.
Your runway to December 31
Set your vendor's delivery time to see what is left.
Illustration only. Assumes 100% business use and sufficient taxable business income. Excludes state tax effects and bonus depreciation. Delivery and install times vary by vendor and equipment. Financing timelines depend on the file. Confirm your situation with your tax advisor.
Who is iFinancial Group?
iFinancial Group is a direct lender. We have been financing business equipment since 1997, roughly $600 million of it, for customers ranging from independent manufacturers to global technology companies. The application is one page, the decision is made in house, and your file is not shopped to third parties.
What does Section 179 actually do?
Most business equipment depreciates over five or seven years for tax purposes. You buy the machine this year and take the write-off in slices over the better part of a decade. Section 179 changes that. It lets you elect to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year it goes into service. The equipment starts earning immediately, and the deduction lands immediately too.
You may already know most of this. It is still worth saying plainly, because the numbers for 2026 are large enough that a lot of businesses never come close to the limit.
| 2026 Section 179 deduction limit | $2,560,000 |
|---|---|
| Spending level where the phase-out begins | $4,090,000 |
| Equipment condition that qualifies | New & used |
| Placed-in-service deadline | December 31, 2026 |
Section 179 is a deduction, not a credit. It reduces taxable income, so the cash value depends on your tax rate, and the deduction is generally limited to your taxable business income, with carryforward for any unused amount. Eligible purchases above the Section 179 limit can typically apply 100 percent bonus depreciation to the balance. Confirm your situation with your tax advisor.
Does financed equipment qualify for Section 179?
This is the part that surprises people. Section 179 applies to financed equipment, not just cash purchases. When the financing is structured so your business is treated as the owner for tax purposes, which finance agreements and buyout-style leases typically are, you typically deduct the full cost this year while making payments over the term. True operating leases, where the lender keeps ownership, typically do not qualify, so structure matters. We finance equipment every day with this in mind, and your CPA makes the final call on your tax treatment.
What that looks like. A business in the 24 percent federal bracket finances a $200,000 machine in November and places it in service before December 31. The full $200,000 is typically deductible under Section 179 for 2026, which works out to roughly $48,000 in federal tax savings, before any state benefit. The cash outlay in year one was a payment or two, not $200,000.
Illustrative example only. Actual savings depend on your tax rate, taxable income, eligibility and structure. This is not tax advice.
How much does Section 179 save on a $100,000 machine?
It depends on your tax rate, because Section 179 is a deduction rather than a credit. A business in the 24 percent federal bracket that finances a $100,000 machine and places it in service before December 31 typically deducts the full $100,000 for 2026, worth roughly $24,000 in federal tax savings before any state benefit. The table runs the same math across common amounts and brackets.
| Equipment cost | 21% | 24% | 32% | 35% | 37% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $10,500 | $12,000 | $16,000 | $17,500 | $18,500 |
| $100,000 | $21,000 | $24,000 | $32,000 | $35,000 | $37,000 |
| $250,000 | $52,500 | $60,000 | $80,000 | $87,500 | $92,500 |
| $500,000 | $105,000 | $120,000 | $160,000 | $175,000 | $185,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $210,000 | $240,000 | $320,000 | $350,000 | $370,000 |
Estimates only. This illustration assumes 100% business use, sufficient taxable business income, no other Section 179 purchases or deductions for the year, and equipment eligible for the full deduction without special property limits. It excludes state tax effects and bonus depreciation. The 2026 Section 179 limit is $2,560,000; it is reduced dollar for dollar when total qualifying purchases exceed $4,090,000. See IRS Publication 946 and confirm eligibility with your tax advisor.
What does "placed in service" mean for Section 179?
Placed in service means the equipment is delivered, installed and ready for business use. Not ordered, not paid for, not in transit. Ready to use.
So the real Section 179 deadline is not December 31. It is December 31 minus your lender's timeline minus your vendor's delivery time. A slower approval path that takes two weeks to review, a week for committee and ten days for documents can turn a mid-November decision into a January funding, and the deduction moves to next year with it.
This is where we separate from the pack:
- Terms typically within 24 hours of a completed one-page application.
- No tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply. One page.
- No minimum, up to $1,000,000 on that same one page.
- Direct lender. The decision is made in house and your file is not shopped.
- Approvals hold up to 60 days, so you can get your answer now and time the purchase on your schedule.
- New and used, all 50 states, including dealer, private party and auction purchases.
An approval in hand also changes the year-end conversation with your vendor. Equipment sellers want December deals closed as much as you do, and a buyer who can move immediately negotiates from the front foot.
There is no obligation until you review your terms and sign off.
Industries
Seven sectors, close to thirty years.
Equipment-intensive sectors where we coordinate multi-vendor transactions and match payment structures to business cycles. If your equipment isn't listed, it's still worth a call.
Multi-vendor transactions
A production cell is rarely one purchase order. The machine, the controls, the material handling, the integration, and often a used component sourced separately.
All of it can be structured as a single financing rather than several separate approvals, any one of which could hold up the rest. That coordination is most of what close to thirty years buys you.
Start an application →Section 179 questions, answered plainly
Does financed equipment qualify for the Section 179 deduction?
Typically, yes. Section 179 is not limited to cash purchases. When the financing is structured so your business is treated as the owner of the equipment for tax purposes, which finance agreements and buyout-style leases typically are, you can typically deduct the cost in the year the equipment is placed in service while making payments over time. True operating leases, where the lender keeps ownership, typically do not qualify. Confirm your structure with your tax advisor.
What is the Section 179 deduction limit for 2026?
For tax years beginning in 2026, the Section 179 deduction limit is $2,560,000, and it begins to phase out when total qualifying purchases exceed $4,090,000. Eligible property above the Section 179 limit can typically apply 100 percent bonus depreciation to the balance. Your actual deduction depends on your taxable income and eligibility, so confirm the numbers with your tax advisor.
Does used equipment qualify for Section 179?
Yes. New and used equipment both qualify, as long as the equipment is new to your business, acquired by purchase, and used more than 50 percent for business. iFinancial Group finances new and used equipment, including dealer, private party and auction purchases.
What is the deadline to claim Section 179 for the 2026 tax year?
The equipment must be placed in service by December 31, 2026, meaning delivered, installed and ready for business use, not just ordered. Financing timelines matter here. iFinancial Group issues terms typically within 24 hours of a completed one-page application, so a purchase decided late in the year can typically still be placed in service before the deadline.
The application is one page. Start it now.
Get your terms, typically within 24 hours, and your approval holds up to 60 days. Buy in October or buy in December, the deduction is yours either way, as long as the equipment is in service by the 31st.