Democrats won Congress. Your 100% bonus depreciation didn't change. Three depreciation deadlines did not care who won, and one of them lands in 2026. In this solo news episode, David Wiener, Mr. Cash Flow, sorts every post-election tax headline into three buckets (law, proposal, or needs a signature) and walks through what the midterms mean for bonus depreciation, cost segregation, Section 179D, the R&D tax credit and the new qualified production property deduction for factory buildings under Section 168(n). The answer to "is my bonus depreciation gone" is no: 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 has no end date in the statute, and your 2026 return gets filed under the law as it stands today.
The deadlines that matter were written before a single vote was counted. If you signed a binding contract before January 19, 2025 on a building that still isn't placed in service, bonus depreciation is 20% in 2026 and 0% in 2027, so the placed-in-service date is worth a call to your tax professional this month. If you manufacture, produce or refine a product, construction on a new plant has to begin before January 1, 2029 for the 100% factory building deduction, and the election to take it goes on the original return. And if your exit plan leans on the step-up in basis, the proposal to end it is bucket two: not law, but worth one conversation with your estate planning attorney.
Built for real estate investors who own rentals or commercial property, business owners who are building or expanding, and tax professionals whose clients are calling this week asking whether they should be worried. Three worked examples put numbers on it: a $500,000 cost segregation study placed in service one month apart, a $10 million plant split by production use, and a $200,000 first-year deduction taken now at 37% or later at 39.6%.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Democrats won Congress: is my bonus depreciation gone?
03:34 Three buckets for every tax headline: law, proposal, or needs a signature
04:47 Seven tax proposals on the table after the election: corporate rate, surtax, step-up, data centers
09:13 100% bonus depreciation in 2026: what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made permanent
12:34 Pre-2025 contract? Bonus depreciation is 20% in 2026 and 0% in 2027
15:02 Qualified production property: deduct 100% of a new factory building (Section 168(n))
20:29 Is 179D coming back? The R&D tax credit after the election
23:39 Should you wait on depreciation if tax rates go up? The $200,000 example
28:42 Step-up in basis proposal: swap till you drop, 1031 exchanges and your heirs
37:35 Bonus depreciation playbook: 5 steps before December 31
Nothing in this episode is tax advice for your situation. Your numbers are your numbers, and they need a professional who knows them. Tax evasion is a crime, but tax avoidance is mandatory.
Your host: David Wiener, "Mr. Cash Flow"
Website: https://davidhwiener.com
No-cost analysis for cost segregation, 179D and R&D tax credits. No obligation, no pitch, and I'll tell you if a study won't pay for itself: https://calendly.com/david-wiener/cs or 770-224-8504 x2
Email: mailto:david@davidhwiener.com
Free newsletter and 2026 tax planning guide: https://www.taxstrategyplaybook.com/newsletter/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaxStrategyPlaybookPodcast/?sub_confirmation=1
#BonusDepreciation #CostSegregation #TaxPlanning #TaxStrategyPlaybook