Section 3: 5–15%R9
Basis and Cost Recovery (Depreciation, Section 179, Bonus)
Exam Insight
Almost every property-transaction question starts with basis and ends with cost recovery. Get the depreciation ordering rules wrong — Section 179 before bonus before MACRS — and the rest of the answer collapses.
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What AICPA Wants You to Know
- 1Compute the initial basis of purchased, gifted, and inherited property
- 2Apply the gift double-basis rule and the inherited-property FMV step-up
- 3Calculate MACRS depreciation using the correct convention and recovery period
- 4Order Section 179 expensing, bonus depreciation, and MACRS correctly
- 5Apply OBBBA-era limits: $2.5M Section 179 and 100% permanent bonus depreciation
- 6Amortize Section 197 intangibles and start-up/organizational costs