What Form 4562 is for
Form 4562 does three jobs. It claims your deduction for depreciation and amortization, it makes the election under section 179 to expense certain property, and it reports the business and investment use of automobiles and other listed property. Depreciation lets you recover the cost of business or investment property over a set number of years. Amortization works the same way for costs like starting a business or goodwill.
You attach the form to your tax return. Sole proprietors, partnerships, S corporations, other corporations, and anyone else claiming these deductions use it. If you are an employee deducting job-related vehicle expenses with the standard mileage rate or actual expenses, you use Form 2106 instead. File a separate Form 4562 for each business or activity on your return that needs one.
Who has to file Form 4562?
Complete and file Form 4562 if you are claiming depreciation for property placed in service during the 2025 tax year, a section 179 expense deduction, depreciation on any vehicle or other listed property no matter when it was placed in service, a deduction for a vehicle reported on a form other than Schedule C (Form 1040), any depreciation on a corporate income tax return other than Form 1120-S, or amortization of costs that begins during the 2025 tax year. A section 179 deduction can include a carryover from a previous year.
- Employees deducting job-related vehicle expenses use Form 2106 instead
- An estate or trust cannot make the section 179 election
- Do not use Form 4562 for the section 179D energy efficient commercial buildings deduction, use Form 7205
When do you file Form 4562 and where does it go?
Form 4562 is not mailed on its own. You attach it to your tax return for the year, so it goes wherever that return goes. Some choices on the form have their own timing. You make the section 179 election on a Form 4562 filed with the original return for the year you placed the property in service, whether or not you file that return on time, or on an amended return filed within the time prescribed by law for that tax year.
Elections to skip the special depreciation allowance work differently. You attach a statement to your timely filed return, including extensions, naming the class of property. If you already filed without making the election, you can still make it on an amended return filed within 6 months of the due date of the return, not counting extensions, and write "Filed pursuant to section 301.9100-2" on that amended return. The election to group assets into general asset accounts also has to be made by the return due date, including extensions.
What changed on the 2025 Form 4562?
The 2025 form has new lines and new dollar limits. For tax years beginning in 2025 the maximum section 179 expense deduction is $2,500,000, cut by the amount that the cost of section 179 property placed in service during the year goes over $4,000,000. The most you can expense under section 179 for a sport utility vehicle placed in service in a tax year beginning in 2025 is $31,300.
- New lines 19h and 20e report MACRS depreciation on 50-year property under GDS and ADS
- Line 23 is split into 23a and 23b for costs capitalized under section 263A
- New line 24c asks whether you own, lease, or charter an aircraft
- Certain qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 gets a 100% special depreciation allowance
- Certain qualified property acquired before January 20, 2025 is limited to 40%, or 60% for long production period property and certain aircraft
How do you fill out Form 4562?
Work through the parts in order, with one exception. If you have any listed property, complete Part V before Part I. Part I handles the section 179 election. Part II covers the special depreciation allowance and other depreciation. Part III covers MACRS, with line 17 for assets from tax years beginning before 2025, lines 19a through 19j for 2025 assets under the General Depreciation System, and lines 20a through 20e for assets under the Alternative Depreciation System. Part IV adds everything up and Part VI covers amortization. Never report listed property in Part II or Part III.
When you run more than one business or activity, file a separate form for each one but complete only one Part I in full. Write "Summary" at the top of Part I on the form holding the combined totals, then enter each activity's share on line 12 of its own form. If the only thing you would report is amortization of costs that began before your 2025 tax year, and you have no other reason to file, skip the form and report that amortization on the "Other Deductions" or "Other Expenses" line of your return.
What counts as listed property?
Listed property generally means passenger automobiles weighing 6,000 pounds or less, other property used for transportation that lends itself to personal use such as motorcycles, pickup trucks, SUVs and aircraft, and property used for entertainment or recreation such as photographic, phonographic, communication and video recording equipment. Property used 50% or less in a qualified business use does not qualify for the section 179 expense deduction or the special depreciation allowance, and you report it on line 27 using the straight line method over its ADS recovery period.
- Section B asks for business miles, commuting miles, and other personal miles for each vehicle
- Employers answer Section C first, and a "Yes" on line 37, 38, 39, 40, or 41 means you skip Section B for the covered vehicles
- Commuting miles never count as business miles
Form 4562 line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | The maximum section 179 deduction, generally $2,500,000 for property placed in service in a tax year beginning in 2025. |
| 2 | Total cost of all section 179 property you placed in service this year, including listed property from Part V and property placed in service by your spouse. |
| 3 | The threshold cost before the limit starts shrinking, $4,000,000 for 2025. |
| 5 | Your dollar limitation for the year. If married filing separately, you and your spouse split it, at 50% each unless you both elect a different split. |
| 10 | Carryover of section 179 you elected in earlier years but could not deduct because of the business income limit. Take it from line 13 of your 2024 Form 4562. |
| 12 | Your actual section 179 expense deduction, capped by the business income limitation on line 11. |
| 14 | Special depreciation allowance for qualified property other than listed property placed in service this year. It applies only in the first year. |
| 17 | MACRS deductions for assets you placed in service in tax years beginning before 2025. |
| 19a through 19j | Assets placed in service in 2025 under the General Depreciation System, sorted by class, with the month placed in service, basis, recovery period, convention and method. |
| 20a through 20e | Assets placed in service in 2025 under the Alternative Depreciation System, using the straight line method over the ADS recovery period. |
| 22 | Your total. Add line 12, lines 14 through 17, lines 19 and 20 column (g), and line 21, then carry it to your return. |
| 23a and 23b | For Part III assets with costs capitalized under section 263A, the basis from interest costs under 263A(f) on 23a and other capitalized costs on 23b. |
| Part V | Listed property. Cars, certain other vehicles, certain aircraft, and property used for entertainment, recreation or amusement, plus your mileage records. |
| 42 | Amortization of costs where the amortization period starts during your 2025 tax year, with the description, start date, amount, Code section and period. |
| 44 | Total amortization. Report it on the "Other Deductions" or "Other Expenses" line of your return. |
Source: IRS, Form 4562 (Rev. 2025) and Instructions for Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property). This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.