Last week the House voted 272-144 to pass the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014, a bill that makes permanent the longstanding Section 179 tax provision for small business expensing. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Patrick Tiberi (OH-12) and has 11 Republican and 6 Democratic cosponsors. The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.

The small business provision outlined in Section 179 of the tax code allows business owners to immediately deduct the cost of investments and upgrades in property, equipment and software instead of depreciating those costs over time. For tax years 2010 through 2013, the expensing limit for small businesses was $500,000. That expensing limitation expired at the end of last year, drastically dropping the limit for tax years after 2013 to $25,000. Under the House-passed provision, Section 179 of the tax code would become permanent at the 2013 level, giving small business owners greater opportunities to invest in their businesses.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Fox.