building

i recently built a building behind my house to store my water softner and parts and so forth for my business. i think i can depreciate the building but over how many years? dont know what kind of property this would be considered. thanks alan

Sissa51,

IRS Pub 946, How To Depreciate Property, is likely your best source of information.
Here is a link to the Pub: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/index.html


It is not clear to me the extent of your building.
Is it located in an area zoned for commercial buildings?
Should you take any 179 deduction?

no, the building is behind my house which is not zoned for commercial.

Is this a "storage shed", i.e. can it easily be detached from its foundation? Is this building something that you might buy for $1200 at Home Depot? If so, it is personal tangible property, it is not a permanent fixture to the land, and therefore you can take a section 179 deduction and deduct the entire expense in the first year, or you can elect a 7 year amortization.

If this is a "building" which is permanently attached to a foundation, then your depreciation period is 39 years, and you can not elect a section 179 deduction.

thanks a lot