Per Diem Rates from the U.S. General Services Administration
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Rates are set by fiscal year, effective October 1 each year. Find current rates in the continental United States ("CONUS Rates").
Types of Property
Property may be defined in several ways, such as tangible, you can touch it (i.e. furniture) and intangible, it has no physical form (i.e. a copyright).
Property may also be defined in a legal or tax context. For example, personal property in the legal sense is property that is movable, such as a table, chairs and a sofa. However, real property is is property that is immovable, such as land or buildings built on a foundation.
In a tax context, property may be defined as personal-use property and business property. This is an important distinction because a loss on personal-use property is not deductible (with some exceptions), such as a loss on the sale of your car. However, a loss on the sale of business property is deductible. Personal-use property, such as computer or desk and chair, may be converted to business use and provide a depreciation deduction.
Then there's Section 197 Intangibles. Section 197 intangibles are certain intangible assets acquired after August 10, 1993 (or after July 25, 1991, if chosen) in connection with the acquisition of a business which must be amortized over 15 years from the date of acquisition regardless of the assets useful life.
Examples if Property:
- Tangible personal property:
- Answering machines
- Bookshelves
- Cars
- Cell phones
- Chairs
- Computers
- Copiers
- Desks
- Desk accessories
- Farming equipment
- Fax machines
- File cabinets
- Floor modeling and displays
- Machinery
- Musical instruments (if you're a musician)
- Printers
- Professional libraries are depreciable if their value decreases over time
- Signs
- Software purchased off-the-shelf (if it has a useful life of one year or less, like tax software, you can take an immediate deduction).
- Telephones
- Tools (if your business is a trade)
- Trucks
- Vacuum cleaners
- Tangible real property:
- Buildings, such as residential rental property and office buildings.
- Intangible property:
- Copyrights, patents and computer software.