I saw that item on the list of expenses/deductions provided on your page and I was rather intrigued. Although I plan on deducting newly purchased books for 2007 filing (on my Schedule C), I was wondering about books purchased before my business was started (4/06), and books which were purchased before 2007. 1) Can I use old editions of textbooks when a newer edition now exists? 2) Is using a website like amazon.com sufficient in showing a books current fair market value? 3) Would I be able to use a section 179 option, getting the full value of these pre-2007 purchased books deducted and making sure I do not claim these books as expenses in subsequent years?

Thanks in advance!!

Zip Code: 96822

We see a lot of your colleagues who depreciate their library once they begin working. However, since you can only take the 179 deduction on business assets purchased and put into business use the same year, you can't deduct the value of your library all in one year.

Instead, you'll claim the deduction over the 7 year life prescribed by the IRS. So you won't get a huge deduction in any one year, but over time, you'll save a decent amount of taxes.

Determining fair market value may be tricky, but if Amazon or some other site sells similar used books, that's a great place to go.

Zip Code: 01801