Section 179 dollar limit ESTIMATE
The 2026 ceiling on the section 179 expense deduction, after the investment limit, for a cost you enter.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Dollar amounts are for tax years beginning in 2026, from IRS Publication 946. The page does not decide whether property qualifies, and it does not apply the taxable-income limit.
Result ESTIMATE
Two published ceilings, and a third this page skips
Publication 946 states that for tax years beginning in 2026 the maximum section 179 expense deduction is $2,560,000. That limit is reduced by the amount by which the cost of section 179 property placed in service during the tax year exceeds $4,090,000. The reduction does not go below zero. A $100,000 purchase is under both thresholds, so the dollar cap shown is $100,000, not $2,560,000: you cannot deduct more than the cost. At $5,000,000 of property, the excess is $910,000, the maximum falls to $1,650,000, and that reduced maximum is the cap. At $6,650,000 the reduction wipes the maximum out.
The same “What’s New for 2026” paragraph states that the maximum section 179 expense deduction for sport utility vehicles placed in service in tax years beginning in 2026 is $32,000. Check the box only when the amount you typed is that one vehicle. A $50,000 SUV then shows a $32,000 cap. Do not check the box on a mixed total, or the vehicle ceiling will be applied to the whole pile.
What is still outside the number
Publication 946 also limits the deduction to taxable business income, and it lists property that does not qualify. Married filing status can change how the limit is shared. None of that is computed here. Bonus depreciation and the MACRS table apply to basis you have left after section 179, which this page also does not compute. Book depreciation, if you spread cost over useful life, is the straight-line calculator. The two methods are allowed to differ.
Sources
- IRS Publication 946 (2025), What’s New for 2026 — $2,560,000 maximum, reduction above $4,090,000, and the $32,000 SUV ceiling.