Quick answer: For tax years beginning in 2026, the IRS set the Section 179 expensing limit at $2,560,000, reduced dollar for dollar once a business places more than $4,090,000 of qualifying property in service during the year. A copier you buy for your business can qualify, but only if it's placed in service, meaning installed and ready to use, before your tax year ends. A lease is a different calculation. Your CPA makes the final call.
Those numbers come straight from section 4.24 of IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, the annual inflation update. For a small office buying one copier, the limit isn't the constraint. The calendar is.
Pro-Tec Copier Services isn't a tax advisor, and nothing here is tax advice. What follows is what a business owner should understand before calling their CPA, so the copier conversation and the tax conversation happen in the right order.
What does "placed in service" mean for a copier?
The IRS says property is placed in service when it's ready and available for a specific use, even if you haven't used it yet. For a copier, that means delivered, installed and working, not ordered.
That distinction trips people up every December. A copier ordered on December 22 that arrives on January 5 belongs to next year's return. December 31, 2026 falls on a Thursday, and the last two weeks of the year are when delivery crews and offices both run short on available days. If a year-end purchase matters to your taxes, the install date is the date to plan around. Pro-Tec's sales and leasing page notes that delivery, installation and user training are included with every sale, so the install can be scheduled when the order is placed.
Bonus depreciation came back too
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reinstated the 100 percent special depreciation allowance for qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025, according to IRS Publication 946. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are separate tools with different rules, and your CPA may use one, the other or both depending on your income and the rest of your purchases. State returns don't always follow the federal rules either, so ask how Georgia will treat the purchase.
Leasing is a different conversation
Section 179 is about property you own. With a fair-market-value lease, you don't own the copier, so you generally aren't depreciating it; the lease payments are treated as an operating expense instead. Some $1-buyout leases are treated as purchases for tax purposes. Which side your lease lands on is exactly the question to hand your CPA, with the lease in hand.
Neither choice is automatically better. A year-one deduction is attractive, but a lease keeps cash in the business and often bundles service. Pro-Tec's leasing vs buying comparison and its 2026 Atlanta lease cost guide lay out the monthly side of that trade.
What it costs to buy instead of lease
Pro-Tec's published ranges put an office copier at roughly $4,000 to $12,000 to buy, against roughly $90 to $350 a month on a 36- to 60-month lease. Refurbished Ricoh and Konica Minolta machines are an option on both paths. You can see current equipment on the copiers for sale in Atlanta page.
If you're buying, don't let a tax deadline pick the machine. Size it to your real monthly volume first. Our article on what to test at a copier demo covers how to check fit with your own documents, and buying from a local dealer vs. buying online explains what installation should include.
Your year-end checklist
- Ask your CPA now whether a 2026 purchase helps your return, and whether Section 179, bonus depreciation or a lease fits best.
- Pull your monthly page volume from your current copier's counter.
- Get a written quote that includes delivery, installation and network setup.
- Book the install date for early December, not the last week of the year.
- Keep the invoice and the installation sign-off together for your CPA.
- Call Pro-Tec Copier Services at 678-469-6608 before December 1 and ask for the free buy-vs-lease analysis, so your CPA has real numbers and the install lands in 2026.
FAQ
What is the Section 179 limit for 2026?
For tax years beginning in 2026, IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets it at $2,560,000, phasing out dollar for dollar above $4,090,000 of qualifying property placed in service.
Does a copier ordered in December count for this year?
Only if it's placed in service, meaning ready and available for use, before your tax year ends. Delivery and installation after year-end push it into the next year.
Can I take Section 179 on a leased copier?
Generally Section 179 applies to property you own. Some $1-buyout leases are treated as purchases; a fair-market-value lease usually isn't. Ask your CPA.
Is this tax advice?
No. Pro-Tec Copier Services isn't a tax advisor. Confirm everything with your CPA before you buy.
