Can I take a full deduction for '22 tax year for the $9100 trailer I purchased for my business or am I required to list it as an asset? I only saw option for the latter.

Was this a house trailer?  What kind of business?  What kind of trailer?

If it is a rental business and it is a residential trailer, then you will need to list it as an asset and depreciate it over 27.5 years

If this is a trailer that you tow behind a vehicle, then you should see an option to take a full deduction and fully depreciate it in the first year. To do this you will still list it as an asset. In order to get the option to take full depreciation, you would take the following steps:

• Select edit next to your business 
• Show More next to Business Assets
• Continue through to add the trailer as an asset
• Select Tools, Machinery, Equipment, Furniture
• Select Trailers and trailer mounted containers
• Enter the trailer description, cost and date of purchase.  Make sure the date of purchase is in 2022 (if you bought it in a prior year, you would need to amend your return to take the section 179 deduction for it)
• Enter the rest of the information about trailer usage and how you purchased it.
• If you use it less than 50% for business you will not be given the option to fully depreciate it
• You will then be given the option to take full, partial or standard depreciation on the trailer.

Your standard depreciation is 5 years on a trailer.  Be aware, that if you take a section 179 deduction on the trailer and stop using it or dispose of it before the 5 year useful life, you will need to recapture the depreciation (add it back to your income in the year of the sale).  So, before making the decision to take full deduction, it is a good idea to look at how long you plan to use the asset and look at your projected income.  If you expect to have more income in future years, sometimes delaying the expense will provide a greater benefit in the long run.  If you had a large profit this year, taking the section 179 will obviously be beneficial this year. 

You don't say what kind of trailer. It matters.

If a house trailer, SEC179 or Special Depreciation Allowance is not an option. If a residential rental it's depreciated over 27.5 years. If commercial it's depreciated over 39 years.

If it's something like a hauling trailer, such as the type used by roofers to haul off debris from a jobsite, then it's a 5-year asset. Since it's cost is more than $2,500 the Safe Harbor di-minimis option to expense it, is not an available option.

SEC179 or SDA "might" be an option, depending on it's MACRS classification. Also keep in mind that if SEC179 or SDA doesn't reduce your tax liability in the tax year you claim it, then it might not be worth it.

Finally, understand that depreciation is not a permanent deduction. You will have to recapture it and pay taxes on that recaptured depreciation at some point in the future.

Thank you, Vanessa and Carl. The trailer is a towable dump trailer that I use 100% for my landscaping business. I went back and followed the instructions you gave me, Vanessa, and it did indeed allow me to take the full deduction this year. However, it did not lower the amount of what I will owe, I think because taking the standard deduction gives me a better outcome than the itemized. This seems strange considering my AGI is about 10,000, and I'll owe $5600 to the IRS. ???