Updated November 7, 2026. Quick answer: Form 4562 is built from four facts about each asset: what it is, when it was placed in service, what it cost and what share of its use was business. Publication 946 tells you to keep records showing how you acquired section 179 property, who you acquired it from and when you placed it in service, and the Form 4562 instructions compute the basis for depreciation from the cost and the business-use percentage. The invoice and a dated asset list answer all four.
On deductions by profession: tax deductions for personal trainers, tax deductions for musicians and performers and tax deductions for web developers.
On deductions by profession: tax deductions for graphic designers and tax deductions for photographers.
When Form 4562 is required
This page reads the primary sources linked under Sources, as retrieved on November 6 and 7, 2026. The Form 4562 instructions are the 2025 revision.
The instructions list who must file: “Depreciation for property placed in service during the 2025 tax year.” “A section 179 expense deduction (which may include a carryover from a previous year).” “Depreciation on any vehicle or other listed property (regardless of when it was placed in service).” Each of those is a claim that needs a record behind it. The form itself is walked through on the Form 4562 instructions page.
The four facts to record for each asset
This page’s asset list has one row per asset with four columns, because those are the facts the form and the publication ask for.
| Fact | What to write down | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A description specific enough to match the invoice | Invoice or receipt |
| Date placed in service | The date it was ready and available for use, not the order or payment date | Delivery or installation paperwork, a dated note |
| Cost or other basis | What you paid, as the invoice shows it; ask your preparer what else adds to basis | Invoice and payment record |
| Business-use share | The percentage used for business, supported by a log for vehicles and similar property | Use log or a dated estimate for the year |
On the second row Publication 946 draws the line: “Even if you are not using the property, it is in service when it is ready and available for its specific use.” Its machine example: “If the machine had been ready and available for use when it was delivered, it would be considered placed in service last year even if it was not actually used until this year.”
On the third and fourth rows the Form 4562 instructions say “To find the basis for depreciation, multiply the cost or other basis of the property by the percentage of business/investment use. From that result, subtract any credits and deductions allocable to the property.” A section 179 deduction is one of the listed reductions, so the asset list needs a column for it once you elect.
Section 179 property: the record the publication names
For section 179 the publication is specific: “You must keep records that show the specific identification of each piece of qualifying section 179 property. These records must show how you acquired the property, the person you acquired it from, and when you placed it in service.” An invoice names the seller and the date of purchase; the in-service date is the one fact an invoice usually does not carry. The current limit is on the 2026 section 179 limit.
Listed property: business use has to be provable
A car, and other property treated as listed, carries a stricter duty. Publication 946 says “You must keep records showing the business, investment, and personal use of your property.” It adds “For listed property, you must keep records for as long as any recapture can still occur. Recapture can occur in any tax year of the recovery period.” That means the use log for a vehicle is kept for every year of the recovery period, not only the year you bought it.
How long the asset records last
The general IRS statement is “Keep records for 3 years if situations (4), (5), and (6) below do not apply to you.” For an asset the clock does not start at purchase. Publication 583 has a separate rule: “Keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property in a taxable disposition.” It gives the reason: “You must keep these records to figure any depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction, and to figure your basis for computing gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property.” The invoice for a machine you depreciate over several years therefore outlives the invoice for a box of printer paper by a long way. The full retention table is on Bookkeeping for a One-Person Business.
Where an app fits
An invoice is a document, and a document can be captured. SparkReceipt’s pricing page lists AI scanning and categorization of receipts and invoices, and Dext’s US home page says you can send receipts, invoices and statements by mobile, email, WhatsApp or desktop. These are the vendors’ statements; this page has not used either product. Neither decides the placed-in-service date, the business-use share or whether an item is an expense or an asset; those facts are yours to record. A spreadsheet with the four columns above and a folder of invoices does the same job.
Common mistakes
- Using the order or payment date as the placed-in-service date when the item was not yet installed or ready for use.
- Throwing away the invoice for an asset once it is fully depreciated, when a listed-property recapture year can still follow.
- Leaving out the business-use share, which is what turns cost into the basis for depreciation.
- Forgetting that a section 179 deduction reduces the basis you carry for later depreciation.
Related: the Form 4562 instructions, the 2026 section 179 limit, and Receipts and Expense Records for a One-Person Business.
Sources
- IRS Instructions for Form 4562 (2025), Depreciation and Amortization
- IRS Publication 946, How To Depreciate Property
- IRS, How long should I keep records
- IRS Publication 583 (Rev. December 2024), Starting a Business and Keeping Records
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.