Roofers and other contractors that are involved in repairing and replacing commercial roofs stand to benefit greatly from a recent change to the way businesses handle depreciation, according to Remodeling magazine. The changes, outlined in Section 179 of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, will allow many owners to write off the full cost of commercial roof improvements in the same year that they are paid for. Previously, they had to depreciate that cost over a 39-year period.
The full write-off will carry a one million dollar maximum and phase out up to $2.5 million which strongly favors small businesses that will easily fall under the limit and allow them to purchase full replacements rather than just patches and repairs. With about 30 million small businesses in America, this will mean a lot of potential economic activity for the roofing industry which is now actively informing businesses of the changes.
Despite obvious advantages for many different types of small businesses, however, real estate players won't stand to benefit as much as some others due to the limitation on rental properties. While rental condos, apartments, and houses are technically part of the business, the changes only apply to nonresidential buildings. Currently, real estate expenses must be depreciated over a period of 27.5 years.
