Truck / Heavy Vehicle

The 6,000-Pound GVW Rule: Your Gateway to Unlimited Deductions

Section 280F of the Internal Revenue Code places strict annual caps on depreciation for passenger vehicles — $12,400 in year one for 2025 without bonus, or $20,400 with bonus depreciation. But there is a well-known exception: any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 6,000 pounds is exempt from these luxury auto limits entirely. Dozens of popular work trucks and heavy-duty pickups clear this threshold, including the Ford F-150 (6,015 lbs GVWR), Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (7,000 lbs), Ram 1500 (6,010 lbs), and every three-quarter-ton and one-ton truck on the market.

Qualifying vehicles over 6,000 lbs can receive the full Section 179 deduction — up to $31,300 for SUVs (the SUV sub-limit) — plus bonus depreciation on the remaining cost. Heavy trucks and vans over 6,000 lbs that are not classified as SUVs face no Section 179 cap at all, making them among the most tax-advantaged business asset purchases available.

Fleet Management and Depreciation Strategy

Businesses operating truck fleets — delivery companies, contractors, landscapers, oilfield service providers — face unique depreciation planning challenges. Fleet operators must decide whether to expense vehicles immediately (maximizing current-year deductions via Section 179 and bonus depreciation) or spread deductions to match future revenue more evenly. The mid-quarter convention applies when more than 40% of a business's depreciable assets are placed in service in the final quarter of the year — a trap fleet managers sometimes trigger by purchasing multiple trucks in Q4.

Fleet mileage tracking is equally important. Vehicles used both for business and personal use require allocation. A truck driven 80% for business and 20% personally can only be depreciated on the 80% business portion. Most fleet software (Samsara, Verizon Connect, Fleet Complete) generates mileage reports that are IRS-audit-ready, eliminating the need for manual logs.

Commercial Truck Market Values and Physical Depreciation

Market depreciation for commercial trucks depends heavily on vocational use, mileage, and maintenance history. A well-maintained Ford F-350 service truck with 100,000 miles typically retains 45–55% of its purchase price after five years, compared to 35–45% for a similar truck with 200,000 miles. Work trucks in harsh environments — construction sites, mining, oilfield — depreciate faster due to wear, while trucks used primarily for light-duty hauling can approach personal-use retention rates.

Class 8 semi-trucks (over 33,000 lbs GVWR) follow a different market entirely. Peterbilt 379 and Kenworth W900 models are legendary for exceptional resale value, sometimes retaining 70–80% of value at 10 years old due to owner-operator demand. Heavy-duty work trucks in good condition can outlast their 5-year MACRS tax life by many years, resulting in long periods of zero book value but continued productive use — a sign of excellent capital efficiency.

Bonus Depreciation on Used Trucks: A TCJA Gift to Buyers

Before 2018, bonus depreciation applied only to new property. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act extended it to used property that is "new to the taxpayer" — meaning a pre-owned truck purchased for business qualifies for bonus depreciation just like a brand-new one. A contractor who buys a two-year-old F-250 for $42,000 can expense the entire purchase in year one under current 100% bonus depreciation rates (restored by the OBBBA effective 2025). This dramatically changes the economics of buying used commercial trucks for business — the tax benefit is identical to buying new, but at a fraction of the acquisition cost.