I have a small side business selling products online. I'm setting up a home office and looking to buy a nice desk, chair, and a couple of monitors to upgrade from my laptop on the kitchen table.
I'm trying to determine if I have to, or if I should, depreciate these expenses over 7 years under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS), or just treat it as a one-time expense this year.
Profit from the business will probably be around $5k this year and the office furniture I'm looking to buy will be in the $1-$1.5k range. I've been deployed to a combat zone so my taxable income will be ridiculously low this year and I will get a huge tax refund either way.
I've got a fairly good handle on my accounting but I'd prefer not to add additional complexity of recognizing depreciation every month for the next 7 years if it's not necessary. Plus, if I sell this business in the future I'm pretty sure the buyer will not want my desk, chair, etc.