Section 179 Planner for Airbnb Hosts — STR Tax Template — Front-Load Depreciation Calculator — Excel

Front-load this year's depreciation. Legally. Section 179 planner for Airbnb and STR hosts. Deduct furniture, appliances, business vehicles in year-1 instead of over 5/7/27.5 years. Editable Excel.

You bought $18,000 of furniture for the new cabin in February. Default IRS treatment
spreads that deduction over five years — $3,600/year. Section 179 lets you deduct
the full $18,000 this year. At a 24% bracket, that's $4,320 in tax saved THIS
April instead of $864 spread over five Aprils.

The catch: §179 has rules. Active-business test. Annual cap. Property type limits
(no real property — that's bonus depreciation territory). Vehicle weight thresholds.
This workbook walks the rules, shows what qualifies, and produces the Form 4562
numbers ready to drop into your tax return.

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WHAT'S INCLUDED
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📋 Eligibility Decision Tab
· Active trade-or-business test (Schedule C: yes; pure Schedule E: usually no)
· Active-participation Schedule E exception
· Asset class eligibility (furniture, appliances, equipment, vehicles ≥6,000 lb GVWR)

📋 Asset Inventory (50-asset capacity)
· Date placed in service, cost basis, asset class
· MACRS recovery period (5/7/15-year) baseline
· §179 vs bonus depreciation vs straight-line — three scenarios per asset

📋 Three-Way Depreciation Comparison
· §179 (immediate full deduction up to cap)
· Bonus depreciation (currently phasing — verify current-year %)
· Straight-line MACRS (default)
· Side-by-side year-1 deduction $ comparison per asset

📋 Annual §179 Cap Tracker
· Current-year cap (verify against IRS — changes annually)
· Phase-out starts when total assets exceed threshold
· Workbook flags when you hit the cap

📋 Vehicle Worksheet (special rules)
· 6,000 lb GVWR threshold (SUVs, trucks, vans)
· Business-use percentage (must be ≥50% in year 1)
· "Heavy SUV" annual cap ($30,500 in 2025 — verify current year)
· Listed-property recapture rules

📋 Form 4562 Output
· Line numbers populated
· Print-ready, ready to hand to CPA or copy into TurboTax

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WHY STR HOSTS NEED THIS
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Section 179 is one of three depreciation accelerators (the others are bonus
depreciation and cost segregation). It's the one most STR hosts can actually
use without hiring a specialist — IF they're on Schedule C or have material
participation on Schedule E.

The dollars: $18K of new furniture × 24% bracket = $4,320 in year-1 tax saved
vs. $864/year for 5 years on default MACRS. Workbook is $27. Year-one ROI on
a single furnishing buy: 160×.

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WHO THIS IS FOR
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· Schedule C STR hosts (active business)
· Schedule E hosts with material participation (active-participation exception)
· Hosts who furnished a property in the current tax year
· Hosts who bought a heavy SUV (6,000+ lb GVWR) used for the business
· Multi-property operators standardizing furnishings across the portfolio

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WHO THIS IS NOT FOR
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· Pure-passive Schedule E filers (§179 generally not available — use straight-line MACRS)
· Hosts looking to depreciate the building itself (real property — see TAX-010 cost seg
or TAX-002 P&L tracker for 27.5-year SL)

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HOW IT WORKS
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1. Open the workbook. Start with the Eligibility tab.
2. Confirm you're Schedule C or Schedule E with material participation.
3. Add every depreciable asset acquired this year to the Asset Inventory.
4. Open the Three-Way Comparison — see year-1 deduction under each method per asset.
5. The workbook recommends §179 for assets where it's the highest deduction,
bonus or straight-line otherwise. You override if needed.
6. Print the Form 4562 Output. Hand to CPA or copy to your tax software.

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FILE COMPATIBILITY
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✅ Microsoft Excel 2016+ (Windows and Mac)
✅ Microsoft Excel 365
✅ Google Sheets

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REFUNDS + SUPPORT
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14-day refund, no questions asked. Email hello [!at] thestrledger.com — real humans,
fast replies.

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ABOUT THE STR LEDGER
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Business-grade Excel systems for serious short-term rental hosts.
Full template library at thestrledger.com.

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⚠ Digital product. Not tax advice. Consult your CPA. IRC §179, IRS Pub 946 (How To
Depreciate Property), and Form 4562 instructions are the canonical references.
§179 cap, bonus depreciation %, and heavy-SUV cap change annually — verify against...