Section 179 offers $139K tax savings opportunity

Dental offices thinking about year-end capital investments should take advantage of the tax savings opportunities offered by Section 179 of the U.S. tax code for 2012, according to a blog post on the Gendex website.

The deduction limit for this year is $139,000.

This deduction limit includes capital equipment investments and off-the-shelf software purchases. Therefore, offices investing in dental equipment such as cone-beam 3D systems, digital panoramic systems, digital x-ray sensors, and imaging software may be able to deduct up to $139,000 from the first year of ownership costs, according to Gendex.

Any purchase more than $139,000, and up to a total of $560,000, may still qualify for a 50% bonus depreciation, Gendex noted. Two additional items to note about bonus depreciation: It is available for new equipment purchases only, and it can also be taken by businesses that will have net operating losses in 2012.

For more complete information on limits and qualifying equipment, Gendex recommends referring to the Internal Revenue Service website or consulting a tax advisor.