Iowa Lawmakers Couple Section 179 with Feds’ Deduction

Lawmakers in Iowa on Tuesday passed a bill that couples Section 179 with federal tax statute. The state’s political analysts expect Gov. Terry Branstad to sign the bill.

This means Iowa farmers, for the year 2015, will be able to deduct in one year the entire cost of a piece of farm equipment rather than make smaller, year-by-year deductions based on depreciation.

The Iowa deducation had been capped at $25,000 but now matches the $500,000 federal deduction for 2015.

The bill couples with everything except bonus depreciation in tax year 2015. It does not couple in tax year 2016, which leaves that decision to the 2017 Legislature.

An article in the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune said the bill will have a $95.7 million impact in state’s current year budget.  S