Section 179 Excel - Free Template

1. Open the Equipment Register and review the 2026 assumptions in the top area: the $1,250,000 Section 179 limit, $3,130,000 phase-out threshold, and 20.00% bonus depreciation rate.
2. Enter one asset per row with an Asset ID, description, category, purchase date, and in-service date. Use the date the property was ready and available for business as the in-service date.
3. Enter the asset's Cost Basis, Business Use %, and MACRS Life in years. For a $10,000 machine used 80% for business, the business-use basis should be $8,000.
4. Enter the Section 179 Election amount and the applicable MACRS rate for year one. Keep the election within the asset's business-use basis and your available tax limit.
5. Review the calculated Bonus Depreciation Amt, Remaining Basis (MACRS), Regular MACRS Yr 1, Total Year 1 Deduction, and Deduction % of Basis columns.
6. Open Depreciation Schedule to review the equipment depreciation detail, then use Dashboard to review the summarized results. Read Instructions before changing formulas or tax assumptions.
7. Save a dated copy with your fixed-asset invoices, purchase documents, and placed-in-service support so the workbook remains tied to your tax records.

Small Businesses Buying Assets

A sole proprietor, single-member LLC, or S-corp bookkeeper usually opens this workbook when equipment is purchased and again during year-end close. A contractor who buys a $48,000 excavator and uses it 90% for business starts with a $43,200 business-use basis, not the full invoice amount.

The Equipment Register is useful for a general contractor with four employees, a dental office adding computers and imaging equipment, or a farm purchasing machinery. Each row preserves the purchase date, in-service date, category, and useful-life assumption instead of leaving the information scattered across invoices and bank statements.

When the Register Matters Most

Use it during the monthly bookkeeping review, before a quarterly estimated-tax payment, and during tax-season preparation for Form 4562. The in-service date matters because equipment bought in December but not ready for use until January belongs to a different depreciation period.

Image 1 shows the Equipment Register's teal title and header areas, yellow input cells, and columns running from Asset ID through Deduction % of Basis. The visible layout places the 2026 assumptions near the top, so you can check the $1,250,000 Section 179 limit, $3,130,000 phase-out threshold, and 20.00% bonus rate before entering assets.

From Register to Tax Planning

The Depreciation Schedule gives you a separate place to inspect depreciation results, while the Dashboard provides a summarized view for management review. Image 2 shows the second tab's schedule layout; images 3 and 4 show the Dashboard and Instructions tabs. A business with 12 assets totaling $160,000 of business-use basis can review the portfolio in minutes instead of rebuilding the calculation from 12 invoices.

Section 179 and the Phase-Out Threshold

This workbook is preloaded with a 2026 Section 179 deduction limit of $1,250,000 and a phase-out threshold of $3,130,000. The phase-out reduces available Section 179 capacity as qualifying property placed in service exceeds the threshold, so the limit is not a reason to elect the full amount on every asset.

Section 179 generally applies to qualifying property placed in service for business, and business use must be considered. For example, an $80,000 asset used 75% for business has an $60,000 business-use basis. A $50,000 election against that basis leaves $10,000 before any remaining-basis or MACRS calculation.

Bonus Depreciation and MACRS

The template's 2026 input for bonus depreciation is 20.00%. It also separates Remaining Basis (MACRS), MACRS Rate Yr 1 %, and Regular MACRS Yr 1, because Section 179, bonus depreciation, and regular MACRS depreciation are different parts of the deduction analysis.

Use the workbook as a calculation and documentation aid, then carry the final amounts to Form 4562 and the appropriate business return. A sole proprietor commonly reports business depreciation through Schedule C; an S-corp or C-corp generally reports it on the corporation's return. The entity type changes the tax return even when the equipment register is identical.

Records That Support the Deduction

Keep the vendor invoice, payment evidence, serial number, purchase date, in-service date, and business-use support with the workbook. The IRS generally expects records to be retained for 3 years, and some situations call for records up to 7 years. The Instructions tab is the right place to review the workbook's intended workflow before modifying a rate or limit.

Using the Invoice Date Instead of the In-Service Date

The most common problem I see is treating the purchase date as the depreciation start date. A $24,000 compressor delivered on 12/20/2026 but installed and ready on 01/05/2027 should not be treated as 2026 in-service property merely because the check cleared in December.

That mistake can shift a deduction into the wrong tax year and force a return amendment or a revised fixed-asset schedule. Enter both dates in the register; do not overwrite the in-service date just to make the deduction appear sooner.

Claiming 100% Business Use Without Support

A mixed-use laptop costing $3,000 and used 70% for business has a $2,100 business-use basis. Applying Section 179 to the full $3,000 overstates the deductible basis by $900 before considering the deduction limit or taxable-income limitation.

Keep a defensible business-use percentage and update it when usage changes. The Business-Use Basis column is valuable precisely because it prevents the cost basis from being treated as automatically deductible.

Double-Counting the First-Year Deduction

Another costly error is adding Section 179, bonus depreciation, and regular MACRS without reducing the remaining basis. If a $10,000 business-use asset receives a $6,000 Section 179 election and a $800 bonus amount, regular MACRS should apply only to the remaining basis, not to the original $10,000.

Also check the Deduction % of Basis column. A result above 100% is a warning that an input or formula deserves review. Image 1 makes these checks easier because the election, bonus amount, remaining basis, regular deduction, and total year-one deduction sit beside one another.

Use a Fixed Equipment Review

Do not wait until tax season to reconstruct asset purchases. During the final bookkeeping session each month, compare the business checking account, credit-card statements, and vendor invoices to the Equipment Register. A company adding two $7,500 tools per month can accumulate $90,000 of annual equipment without a monthly control.

Assign one person to enter new assets and another person to review the in-service date, business-use percentage, and MACRS life. That two-person check is more reliable than asking the tax preparer to interpret a year of unlabeled transactions in March.

Standardize the Entry Routine

• Use a consistent Asset ID such as EQ-2026-001, EQ-2026-002, and EQ-2026-003.
• Copy the prior month's supporting folder structure so every row links to an invoice and payment record.
• Review the Dashboard after each update and investigate a sudden jump in total year-one deductions.
• Protect formula cells and change only the clearly marked assumption or input cells.

For a $36,000 vehicle used 80% for business, enter the $28,800 business-use basis once and preserve the supporting mileage or usage record separately. The workbook should summarize evidence, not replace it.

Know When Excel Has Reached Its Limit

Excel works well for a small register with 10 or 20 assets and one reviewer. Move to fixed-asset software or an integrated accounting system when you manage several hundred assets, multiple legal entities, disposals, transfers, partial-year conventions, or monthly depreciation entries that must post automatically to a general ledger.