Tax deduction guide

Is a laptop tax deductible?

Tax year 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026

When it counts

  • You use it to do client work, run your software, or manage the business. Invoicing and email for the business count too.
  • Only the business share counts. If you use it for work 80% of the time, 80% of the price is your business cost.
  • It cost $2,500 or less per item or invoice. The de minimis safe harbor then lets you deduct your share this year. You choose it each year, as an election on your tax return.
  • It cost more than $2,500. A laptop is depreciated over 5 years, but two options can speed that up. Section 179 can deduct it in the first year when business use is more than 50%. For a laptop you bought after January 19, 2025, 100% bonus depreciation also applies unless you opt out. If you bought it before that date, a lower bonus rate applies, so keep the purchase date.
  • The 2026 Section 179 limit is $2,560,000, so a laptop never comes close to it.

When it doesn't

  • You use it only for personal things. Personal, living and family expenses are never business deductions.
  • The personal share of a mixed-use laptop does not count.
  • You bought it for yourself before your business started and moved it into the business later. The safe harbor does not apply, and neither does Section 179. You depreciate it from the day you first used it for work, based on the lower of what you paid and what it was worth then.
  • Business use is 50% or less and the laptop costs more than $2,500. Section 179 is not available then.

A worked example

You buy a 14-inch laptop for $2,426.60 and use it for work about 80% of the time.

  • Price: $2,426.60
  • Business use: 80%
  • Your write-off: $1,941.28 (that is $2,426.60 times 80%)
  • Personal share, not deducted: $485.32

It cost under $2,500, so you deduct the $1,941.28 this year. It goes on Schedule C, line 27b, other expenses.

A $3,200 laptop used 100% for work and bought in 2026 is over $2,500. Depreciation would spread it over 5 years. With 100% bonus depreciation or Section 179, you can deduct all $3,200 in 2026. That goes on Form 4562 and Schedule C, line 13.

What records to keep

  • The receipt, with the date and amount.
  • A short note on how much of the time it is for business, and how you worked that out.
  • The date you started using it for work.
  • What you use it for. One sentence is enough.

Common questions

Can I deduct a laptop I also use for personal things?

Yes, for the work share. Estimate how much of your use is for the business, write down how you got that number, and deduct that share.

Is there a price limit for deducting a laptop this year?

Up to $2,500 per item or invoice, the de minimis safe harbor works. Above that, you depreciate it, or use Section 179 or bonus depreciation to deduct it sooner.

What if I bought the laptop before I started my business?

Then it is depreciated from the day you began using it for work. The safe harbor and Section 179 do not apply to it.

Sources

Also cited by the WriteOff rules: 26 U.S.C. sections 162, 167, 168, 179, 262 and 263, and Treas. Reg. section 1.263(a)-1(f).