For those of you who use these trucks in your business and write them off, how often do you trade them in or is it better to lease? I figure at some point the depreciation vs. the trade in value is at its best for tax purposes. Is this one, two, three or more years? I have an '01 and the trade in value is getting lower by the day. My accoutant says if I sell it out right it is considered income and I have to pay taxes on it as income. If I trade it in I get to write off the difference between the trade in value and the cost of the new truck. Or since the depreciation is over a five year period should I keep the truck five years?

My trucks are used 100% for business (multi businesses) and I write off everything. I buy new every two years or 75,000 miles. I find trucks harder to sell over 75,000 miles and I get less out of them. My 02 D/A was 40K new, driven about 30 months and 75,000 miles ( 1 set of injectors only problem), sold for $28,000 cash first day up for sale (Over 50 calls on it in two days). My 05 cost 41K. I trade my bumpers, winch, canopy, radios and phones from truck to truck, but lose on things like bilstein shocks, oversize gas tanks, and other refinements which go with the truck which have also been written off. Have a deal with the dealer to have a new truck ordered (July) and usually first one the dealer gets at a maximum set price over invoice, unless the market is less. Also buy every two years for wife's business car (Suburban) and have a standing order for a new D/Max sub when introduced. Her business vehicle is also a 100% write off. I buy every two years because these new vehicles are extremely expensive to repair off warranty and the older they get the worse they get. Because they are so expensive to repair, I believe they will drastically drop in value the older they get because people who buy them won't be able to afford to repair them. Anybody could fix or repair 60's, 70's, most 80's, and some 90's vehicles with a little backyard shadetree knowledge and a few basic tools, but todays vehicle is build with a built in obsolescense of about 5 years. Who driving a 10 yr old D/A with 225,000 miles could afford to replace injectors, engine, trans, etc. Not many.
I never have a problem selling my used trucks - always a line to buy them at top dollar. If the truck is a bad truck, I will not sell it, but have it wholesaled. I will not misrepresent it even to someone I don't know. Been selling my new vehicles off this way since 1970.

Tax laws changed this year, you can only write off up to $25K and only he portion of that which you use for business. The laws were fantastic up to that point, Bush even extended it an extra year through 2004 but Jan 1st it wend down. I will still try to write off all I can on mine, but it's not the same as it was.

BIG MACZ,

You will be glad to know that the $25,000 change in section 179 only applies to SUV's with a GVW of 6k to 14k.

Our trucks are exempt and still qualify for the $100,000 equipment deduction.:ro)

Exempt Vehicles Not Subject to the $25,000 Section 179 Limitation

Exempt vehicles that meet any of the following criteria are not subject to the $25,000 Section 179 limitation if they are:


Designed to have a seating capacity of more than 9 persons behind the drivers seat,
Equipped with a cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior length which is an open area or is designed for use as an open area but is enclosed by a cap and is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or
Designed with an integral enclosure, fully enclosing the drivers compartment and load carrying device and does not have seating rearward of the drivers seat and has no body section protruding more than 30 inches ahead of the leading edge of the windshield.

BIG MACZ,

You will be glad to know that the $25,000 change in section 179 only applies to SUV's with a GVW of 6k to 14k.

Our trucks are exempt and still qualify for the $100,000 equipment deduction.:ro)

Exempt Vehicles Not Subject to the $25,000 Section 179 Limitation

Exempt vehicles that meet any of the following criteria are not subject to the $25,000 Section 179 limitation if they are:

Designed to have a seating capacity of more than 9 persons behind the drivers seat,
Equipped with a cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior length which is an open area or is designed for use as an open area but is enclosed by a cap and is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or
Designed with an integral enclosure, fully enclosing the drivers compartment and load carrying device and does not have seating rearward of the drivers seat and has no body section protruding more than 30 inches ahead of the leading edge of the windshield.


oh man thats cool! my dad and i were talking about that the other day... i can bring this up to him now.

Remember that if the equipment is sold/traded short of the full depreciation period, there is Section 179 recovery required, (you have to give some of it back).

For what it's worth.

Idahofox

Sweet, never thought I would be so happy to be so wrong! Cha CHING!!!

don't take the depreciation route, take the 40 1/2 cents a mile write-off that the
federal Gov gives you.That way you don't have to worry about the depreciation write-off when you get ready to sell your vehicle.

animal4500rvtransporter

The main reason I brought mine was for the tax write-off. I look at it as a 35% savings on top of the other discounts. Truck stickered for $50k, got it for about $42-43k and then 35% off that brough the price down to $28k. Granted I would have had to pay that money anyway but at least I get something out of it.