[net.taxes] Buying a car for business use

wrf@ernie.BERKELEY.EDU (W. Randolph Franklin) (11/08/85)

As I understand it, if you buy a car in December 1985, and use it 100%
for business for that month, then you get the 17% deduction and a
tax credit. That you may use it for personal things like commuting
in 1986 is irrelevant - you just can't take the 86 deduction.

I also understand that the IRS ignores the letter of the law, if, in
their opinion, the taxpayer is taking too great an advantage of
some rule. (Although Justice what's-his-name said that no one is
obliged to pay more tax than necessary, the IRS has said that
business arrangements constructed solely for tax purposes w/o any
other reason aren't valid.)

What experience have people had with buying business property
towards the end of a year, taking the maximum deduction, and then
converting it to personal property?

Please send replies to me, and I will post a summary w/o the names
to the net.

Wm. Randolph Franklin, UC Berkeley,  
Arpanet: wrf@ernie.Berkeley.EDU
USPS: Computer Science Div., 543 Evans, University of California,
	  Berkeley CA, 94720, USA
415-642-9955