Soybean growers seek Section 179 restoration

The American Soybean Association (ASA) is among the groups that signed a letter sent to the U.S. House of Representatives this week asking for higher Section 179 and 50 percent bonus depreciation to be restored.

“Section 179 and bonus depreciation allows [farmers] to write off capital expenditures in the year that purchases are made rather than to depreciate them over time,” the groups said in the letter. “The ability to immediately expense capital purchases also provides an incentive for farmers and ranchers to invest in their businesses and offers the benefit of reducing the record keeping burden associated with the depreciation.”

The higher Section 179 small business expensing limits and 50 percent bonus depreciation would help farmers who are constantly investing in machinery and other depreciable assets. In the law that expired on New Year’s Eve 2014, $25,000 is the maximum allowable amount that a small business can immediately expense when buying business assets, rather than depreciating them over time.

The American Soybean Association supports the renewal of the expired tax code and hopes to see it included in a multi-year extenders package.