Finance Now, Take the Section 179 Write-Off This Year

Deduct the Full Price, Not Your Payments

Finance the equipment, make one payment this year, and you can still write off the entire purchase price under Section 179 when it is placed in service.

$2.5M Section 179 Cap for 2025

Recent tax law raised the expensing cap to $2,500,000 and restored 100 percent bonus depreciation. Most practice equipment purchases fit comfortably inside it.

Fast Enough to Beat December 31

Application-only approvals up to $250,000 often come back the same day, so your equipment is placed in service before the year-end deadline.

Conserve Cash, Capture the Write-Off

From 5.49 percent APR for qualified practices. Keep your capital working while the first-year deduction offsets a large share of the cost.

Section 179 of the tax code lets a practice deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment in the year it is placed in service, rather than depreciating it a little at a time over five or seven years. The number that surprises most doctors: financing does not reduce the deduction. If you sign for a $130,000 laser in December, take delivery, and it is installed and operational before December 31, you can generally deduct the entire $130,000 this tax year even if you have made only one payment. The deduction is tied to placing the asset in service, not to how much cash you have handed over. For 2025, the Section 179 expensing cap rose to $2,500,000 under recent tax law, with the phase-out beginning at $4,000,000, and 100 percent bonus depreciation was restored for property placed in service after January 19, 2025. That combination is powerful for a growing practice. You conserve capital by financing, you generate revenue from the equipment immediately, and you capture a large first-year write-off. We structure the funding fast so you clear the placed-in-service deadline. Your CPA confirms the exact deduction for your situation.

These are real structures we closed recently, names withheld. Rates are never guaranteed until underwriting reviews your file.

• $130,000 aesthetic laser platform (Sciton Joule with BBL HERO and laser handpieces). Miami dermatologist, 8 years in practice, 738 credit. Funded in December so the deduction landed that tax year. Result: 5.74% APR, 60 months, 5 percent down.
• $265,000 cataract suite (Alcon Centurion Vision System plus Zeiss surgical microscope). Ophthalmology practice, 12 years, 751 credit. Result: 5.59% APR, 60 months, zero down.
• $54,000 hair and vascular laser (Candela GentleMax Pro Plus). Dermatology and med spa, 5 years, 699 credit. Result: 6.34% APR, 48 months, 10 percent down.
• $120,000 cone beam CT (Carestream CS 9600). Endodontic practice, 7 years, 715 credit. Result: 6.09% APR, 60 months, zero down.

The Miami laser is the textbook year-end move: the doctor wanted the Sciton in service before December 31, financed it with almost no cash out, and asked her CPA to apply Section 179. Notice the 738 and 751 files priced in the mid-fives, while the high-690s file still funded comfortably in the low-sixes. Challenged credit is welcome too.

Here is the math that makes year-end financing attractive. Take the $130,000 Sciton. Financed near 5.74 percent over 60 months, the payment is roughly $2,500 a month, about $30,000 in the first 12 months. Now assume the practice is in a combined 35 percent federal and state bracket. A full Section 179 deduction of $130,000 can cut the tax bill by roughly $45,500 in year one, subject to having enough taxable income to absorb it. In other words, the first-year tax savings can exceed the first year of payments. The equipment is billing procedures the entire time. A single BBL or laser resurfacing session runs several hundred dollars in many markets, and a busy platform books multiple sessions a day, so the revenue side compounds while the deduction offsets the cost. This is why we push to fund before December 31 rather than waiting for January. The exact benefit depends on your entity type, your income, whether you elect Section 179 or bonus depreciation or both, and any phase-outs. We do not give tax advice, we structure the financing. Bring these numbers to your CPA and let them confirm the deduction before you sign.

The deduction is not about when you order, it is about when the equipment is placed in service, meaning delivered, installed, and ready to use in your practice. That is why the calendar gets tight in the fourth quarter. Manufacturers of imaging and surgical systems can quote six to eight week lead times, and a laser or CAD/CAM unit still needs delivery and setup. If you want the write-off this tax year, the machine has to be running by December 31, not sitting on a loading dock. We move on our side of the timeline aggressively. Application-only approvals up to $250,000 often come back same day. Larger files with bank statements and a tax return move in a few business days. Once approved, we coordinate the funding so the vendor ships and installs without waiting on paperwork. Every year we see practices scramble in mid-December and still close in time because the financing was not the bottleneck. The lesson is simple: start the conversation in October or November for anything with a lead time. If it is already December and you found a machine, call us anyway. We have funded plenty of last-week-of-the-year deals. Confirm the placed-in-service treatment with your CPA so there is no surprise at filing.

If I finance the equipment, can I still deduct the full price?

Generally yes. Section 179 ties the deduction to placing the equipment in service, not to how much cash you have paid. Finance a $130,000 laser, make one payment this year, and you can typically deduct the full $130,000. Confirm the details with your CPA.

What is the Section 179 limit for 2025?

The expensing cap rose to $2,500,000 under recent tax law, with the phase-out beginning at $4,000,000, and 100 percent bonus depreciation was restored for property placed in service after January 19, 2025. Your accountant confirms the exact figures for your return.

What is the year-end deadline?

The equipment must be placed in service, meaning delivered, installed, and ready to use, by December 31 to count for that tax year. Ordering in December is not enough if the machine is not running yet, so start early for anything with a lead time.

Does used or refurbished equipment qualify for Section 179?

Yes, as long as it is new to your practice. You do not have to buy new to take the first-year deduction. This is a common way to maximize the write-off on a smaller budget.

Does a lease qualify for Section 179?

A dollar buyout or capital lease usually does, because you end up owning the equipment. A true fair market value lease generally does not, since you deduct the payments as an expense instead. Your CPA will point you to the right structure.