# Can I deduct the cost of a laptop for my business?

Yes, for the business share. If you elect the de minimis safe harbor, a laptop costing up to $2,500 per item or invoice can be deducted in the year you buy it. Otherwise you depreciate it, or, if business use is more than 50%, you can elect the section 179 deduction, which for 2025 allows up to $2,500,000 in total. The personal share of a laptop is not deductible. A ProfitDrawer bookkeeping spreadsheet records the purchase with a receipt link.

How the options work for a laptop placed in service in 2025 (IRS Publications 334 and 946, 2025):

- **De minimis safe harbor:** without an applicable financial statement, up to $2,500 per item or invoice, if you also expense it in your books. You elect it each year with a statement on your timely filed return, and it covers all qualifying purchases that year.
- **Section 179:** deduct the cost in the year you place the laptop in service, within a dollar limit and a business income limit. For mixed use, you can elect it only if business use is more than 50%, and only the business percentage of the cost counts.
- **Depreciation:** recover the cost over the asset's recovery period. Publication 946 also covers a special depreciation allowance for qualified property.

**Example (example numbers only):** a $1,500 laptop used 80% for business has a business cost of $1,200.

Keep the receipt and a short note on how you estimated business use. General information, not tax advice.

- Source: [IRS Publication 946 (2025), How To Depreciate Property](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946)
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Category: Small business taxes
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