One of the changes brought about by Tax Reform legislation passed in December 2017 allows businesses to write off most depreciable business assets in the year they place them in service.

The 100% depreciation deduction generally applies to depreciable business assets with a recovery period of 20 years or less and certain other property. Machinery, equipment, computers, appliances and furniture generally qualify.

The depreciation deduction applies to qualifying property acquired and placed in service after Sept. 27, 2017. Taxpayers who elect out of the depreciation deduction for a class of property must do so on a timely filed return. Those who have already timely filed their 2017 return and did not elect out can still do so. These taxpayers have six months from the original filing deadline to file an amended return. For calendar-year corporations, this means Oct. 15, 2018.

For details on claiming the 100% depreciation deduction or electing out of claiming it, taxpayers can refer to the proposed regulations or the instructions to Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization.