Let Farmers Fly › Federal › Section 179 expensing and 100% bonus depreciation
Section 179 expensing and 100% bonus depreciation
Internal Revenue Service: Section 179 limit $2,560,000 for tax years beginning in 2026, phased out above $4,090,000; 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025. In effect; claimed on the tax return.
Verified Oct 14, 2026 against irs.gov · Report a change
What it pays
$2,560,000
Section 179 limit $2,560,000 for tax years beginning in 2026, phased out above $4,090,000; 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
You pay first
See below
You pay the full price; the benefit is your marginal tax rate times the deduction, decided on the return. · not confirmed
Buy before approval?
N/A
Not applicable. · not confirmed
Drones
Ask Internal Revenue Service
An agricultural drone meets Publication 225's four depreciable-property tests on their face, but the IRS names no recovery class for drones and has aircraft-specific rules whose application to UAS is not addressed.
Who can apply
Any farm business with taxable income; the deduction only lowers taxable income, so a farm with no net income gets nothing this year (Section 179 carries forward).
What it covers
Depreciable farm equipment placed in service during the year, claimed on Form 4562. · not confirmed
Drones: ask the agency before you count on it
An agricultural drone meets Publication 225's four depreciable-property tests on their face, but the IRS names no recovery class for drones and has aircraft-specific rules whose application to UAS is not addressed. Ask a tax professional.
What that means for you: equipment is an allowed purpose and drones are not named. Nobody can promise approval. If you plan to ask, describe the exact use and tie it to a practice the agency already recognizes.
Question to send Internal Revenue Service (copy and edit)
"I farm [acres, crop] in [county]. Would a [make, model] agricultural drone used for [spot spraying / variable-rate fertilizer / cover-crop seeding] be considered eligible under Section 179 expensing and 100% bonus depreciation, and what would you need from me to decide?"
Money and timing
Section 179 limit $2,560,000 for tax years beginning in 2026, phased out above $4,090,000; 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025. You pay the full price; the benefit is your marginal tax rate times the deduction, decided on the return. · not confirmed
| Item | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Opens | Not stated |
| Deadline | Your tax return due date. |
| When money arrives | When the return is filed. |
| Repayment | Not a loan. · not confirmed |
| Equipment origin rules | None. · not confirmed |
In effect; claimed on the tax return.
Paperwork
Form 4562 with the return; purchase records. · not confirmed
Where this comes from
Every quoted line below was copied from the official page the research harness captured, and checked again against that capture when this site was built. Lines marked "not confirmed" elsewhere on this page have no quote yet.
| Fact | Official wording | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program name | Section 179 | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Agency | Internal Revenue Service | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Kind of help | Section 179 | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Who can apply | is limited to the taxable income from the active conduct of any trade or business during the year | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Who can apply | Carryover of disallowed deduction. | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Status | Use Form 4562 to claim your deduction for depreciation and amortization. | irs.gov · capture 187 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Deadline | You must complete and attach Form 4562 to your tax return if you are claiming | irs.gov · capture 187 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | For tax years beginning in 2026, the maximum section 179 expense deduction is $2,560,000. | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | reduced by the amount by which the cost of section 179 property placed in service during the tax year exceeds $4,090,000 | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | reinstated the 100% special depreciation allowance for certain qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | elects to treat as an expense cannot exceed $2,560,000 | irs.gov · capture 186 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| When money arrives | You must complete and attach Form 4562 to your tax return if you are claiming | irs.gov · capture 187 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Official page | How To Depreciate Property | irs.gov · capture 188 | Oct 14, 2026 |
Record irs-section-179-and-bonus-depreciation v2, approved; automatic checks run Oct 15, 2026.
Ask about this program
Answers come only from the verified program records on this site. Every answer shows the agency's own words and the date we checked them. When the records don't say, it tells you to ask Internal Revenue Service.
Not live yet: the assistant is being built. Until then, use the program pages and the contact on each one.