SUMMARY BY CHATGPT

In Episode 1121 of the podcast Screw the Commute, Tom Antion explains how recent U.S. tax law changes can significantly benefit small business owners making equipment purchases in 2026.
Main Topic: Tax Advantages for Business Equipment Purchases
Tom discusses two major tax provisions that allow businesses to deduct equipment purchases much faster than in the past:
1. Section 179 Expensing
This allows businesses to deduct the cost of qualifying equipment in the same year it is purchased rather than depreciating it over several years.
Examples of qualifying purchases include:
• Computers
• Cameras
• Podcast and video equipment
• Business vehicles
• Furniture
• Machinery
• Air conditioners
• Security systems
• Software
Key points:
• 2026 deduction limit: approximately $2.56 million
• Deduction begins phasing out after roughly $4 million in purchases
• Rules may vary by state
• Users should always consult an accountant or financial advisor first
2. Bonus Depreciation
Tom describes this as even more powerful because:
• There is no dollar cap
• Equipment can qualify even if it is financed rather than fully paid off
• Used equipment may qualify
• Large vehicles such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and cargo vans may qualify
Important conditions:
• The equipment must be installed and actively “in service” before year-end
• Business-use percentages and mileage records matter for vehicles
Core Advice
Tom emphasizes:
• Don’t buy equipment you don’t actually need just for a deduction
• Consider both cash flow and tax savings
• Work with a knowledgeable accountant to combine Section 179 and bonus depreciation strategically
Broader Tax Context
He credits these tax benefits to changes that began around 2017 and says recent legislation extended many of them into 2026. He briefly mentions other tax-related provisions involving:
• Tips
• Overtime
• Social Security income
but notes these programs still have income limits and restrictions.
Additional Themes
As usual, Tom promotes:
• His automation book
• His mentor program
• His online school at IMTCVA.org
Overall Takeaway
The episode encourages entrepreneurs and small business owners to review their equipment needs in 2026 because current tax laws may allow them to deduct major purchases immediately, potentially saving substantial money on taxes.

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Episode 1121 – Equipment Purchases 2026
[00:00:08] Welcome to Screw the Commute. The entrepreneurial podcast dedicated to getting you out of the car and into the money, with your host, lifelong entrepreneur and multimillionaire, Tom Antion.
[00:00:24] Hey everybody, it's Tom here with episode 1121 of Screw the Commute podcast. Anytime you want to get to one of these episodes, you go to screwthecommute.com, slash, then the episode number. This was 1121 and it's going to be on equipment purchases in 2026. And don't think that this has to be gigantic industrial equipment. This could be a computer, a camera. I mean, I'm going to give you a whole list of stuff. And because of all these tax changes, you really get a big advantage. And I'll explain that to you in a minute. All right. I hope you didn't miss 1120. That was another phone tip episode I've done. I don't know, probably 20 phone tip episodes. And you can go to screwthecommute.com and just search for the word phone. And oh my God, just all these things that can make you lightning fast on your cell phone. It's very simple to do. All right, pick up a copy of my automation book at screwthecommute.com/automatefree. Version 3.0 is the latest. But there's one program in there that I've been pushing for years called Short Keys that's now no longer a program. It's a browser extension, but it's still really, really powerful. Save me millions and millions of keystrokes that we estimated. And check out my mentor program, greatinternetmarketingtraining.com and my school at IMTCVA.org, certified to operate by SCHEV.
[00:01:52] Okay, since this is a financial episode, I always have to tell you I'm not qualified as a financial advisor or an accountant or anything. I'm just going to give you some ideas of the changes that have occurred recently, and you run them by your financial advisor, if you like any of them.
[00:02:11] Now, this basically started back and I don't care whether you like Trump or not. This started around 2017 when he was pushing for big, big tax cuts and they got through. But a lot of them were going to run out. And then this latest thing he did, the big beautiful bill, was what they call it, made them extended. And I don't know if they're good forever, but they're certainly good for 2026. So what we're talking about here is two major things that you run by your accountant or financial advisor. One is called section 179 expansion expensing. And so let me restate that section 179 expensing. And the other is bonus depreciation. All right. And both of them allow you to deduct most or all of your business equipment purchases in the same year instead of slowly depreciating them over five, seven or more years. This is crazy. Folks, I've been in business for close to 50 years, and this we always used to have to extend things out forever and not get the benefit of it, like right now. And that's changed with these things. All right. So let me give you some examples on section 179 expensing. These are just some examples of things that you can do. And a lot of us small business people do all of these computers cameras podcasts and video equipment, business vehicles, furniture, machinery, air conditioners, security systems, software, all kinds of stuff can apply and. But I always will caveat this because it's my responsibility to do.
[00:04:08] Before you make any major purchase, you know, cover it with your financial advisor or accountant and ask them, does this qualify for this, that, and the other. And one other caution is each state can be different on some of the the things. But but this is generally a federal thing. But whether states recognize it or not, that's a different story. So you check with your accountant on that. Okay. So in 2026, you can the limit on section 179 is $2,560,000. That's a lot of stuff, all right, especially for us small businesses. And it starts phasing out after you've that's the the limit in deductions. Okay. That's not the purchases. That's the limit on deductions. And it starts phasing out to after you spend about $4 million. Okay. But that's a lot. A lot of great purchases that you can deduct, you know, in the same year. Beautiful. Save you a ton of taxes. Now the next thing is bonus depreciation. And this is really, really crazy. See you can with bonus depreciation you can still depreciate something even if you didn't purchase it yet. Buy with cash. If you financed it, it's all right. So in other words you didn't. You purchased it but you didn't pay for it yet. You can still depreciate it all in that year. I mean, this is freaking people are going nuts over this. Now it's got to be in service. You can't like wait till December 31st like I do on a lot of stuff and, and buy it.
[00:05:48] It has to be installed and in service prior to the end of the year. And a lot of times this is used for really large purchases because there's no dollar cap on this one. It works for anything. Now, savvy accountants will mix these two for you to to come out the best for you. All right. Now you can do vehicles, large vehicles like large pickup trucks, large SUVs, cargo vans. There's no cap on the the limits on this one financially. Now, personal use does matter. And mileage. You got to keep mileage records and. And here's another thing that's just crazy. You can use this on used equipment to see. So I really want you to get in touch with your accountant and think about, okay, what do I need this year? Well, another warning is you still have to spend the money to purchase it unless you financed it. All right. And for cash flow wise. But you still have to pay for it. Okay. So you have to figure, hey, am I going to save enough taxes? Do I really need this equipment? Yes. Am I going to save a lot of taxes if I purchase it now? Yes. Well, then it might be worth it to you. But just to buy stuff willy nilly, you know, just if you don't need it, that can be risky. So again, you check it, check with your financial advisors and see if it makes sense for you. So that's a really critical thing in tax changes.
[00:07:20] Now that's was started in 2017. And now this big beautiful bill is extended it including all the other things, the tax you know, no tax on tips and over time and, and, uh, social Security and things like that. Now there are limits on that stuff. You know, it sounds good. The sound bite, no tax on tips, but I think it's after 25,000, you have to start paying tax on them. But still, for a lot of people that are working waitress jobs and everything, that's that's a big, big deal for them. Saves them thousands of dollars at the end of the end of the day. But anyway, I want you to know about this. And again, it doesn't have to be gigantic commercial machinery. It could be your computer, it could be your your camera that you need for doing podcasting or new computer. You know, like I said, new computers, whatever you happen to need, uh, is, is deductible in the same year. And that is freaking awesome talking. Those of you that are brand new in business don't realize how big a deal that is, but you will very, very shortly. Okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Check out my mentor program, greatinternetmarketingtraining.com and my school at IMTCVA.org, certified to operate by the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia. But you don't have to be in Virginia because it's quality distance learning. All right, check it all out and I will catch you on the next episode. See you later.