For 2026, Section 179 lets a business deduct up to $2,560,000 of qualifying equipment in the year it is placed in service, phasing out dollar-for-dollar above $4,090,000 of purchases and disappearing at $6,650,000. Separately, 100% bonus depreciation is now permanent.
Imaging is the vertical where these two interact most. A single 3T magnet can approach the Section 179 cap by itself, a multi-modality buildout can cross the phase-out threshold, and the taxable income limitation frequently binds in the year a center opens. Bonus depreciation, which has no income limit, often does the heavy lifting.
The other constraint is the calendar. Five West funds nationwide with same-day options on qualified files, so a scanner commissioning in December is never waiting on a credit decision.
Five West programs at a glance
Commissioning gates the deduction, and imaging installs have the longest lead times in healthcare equipment. We fund nationwide with same-day options on qualified files, so the credit decision is settled long before the physicist is scheduled.
- Rates
- Priced to your credit profile, term, and equipment; competitive with a bank on rate, not on speed
- Terms
- 24 to 84 months, with 10 years on select programs
- Amounts
- $20,000 to $5 million+
- Application only
- Up to $500,000 with no tax returns or financial statements
- Credit
- Established businesses from 600+, startups from 700+
- Equipment
- New, used, refurbished, dealer, and private-party purchases
- Speed
- Same-day options on qualified files, with approvals in as little as a few hours
- Coverage
- Nationwide, U.S. territories, and cross-border
Tell us the target placed-in-service date and we will work the funding backward from it.
Free consultation, no obligation. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting; rates and terms depend on the complete business and credit profile.
The 2026 numbers
- Section 179 maximum deduction: $2,560,000, doubled from $1,250,000 in 2025.
- Phase-out begins at $4,090,000 of qualifying property placed in service during the year.
- Fully phased out at $6,650,000.
- 100% bonus depreciation is permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Section 179 cannot exceed net active business income. Bonus depreciation can, and can create or deepen a loss.
Why the caps actually matter in imaging
In most healthcare verticals the Section 179 cap is theoretical, since a dental practice equipping three operatories is nowhere near $2.56 million. Imaging is different, and it is worth knowing which side of the line you are on before December.
A new 3T MRI at $1.9 million to $3.4 million can consume the entire Section 179 allowance on its own. A center opening with CT, MRI, ultrasound, and a DR room can plausibly place $4 million or more in service in one year, which puts it into the phase-out band where every additional dollar of purchases reduces the Section 179 deduction by a dollar.
This is not a problem, because bonus depreciation has no cap. It becomes a planning question instead: which assets you elect Section 179 on, which you leave to bonus, and whether spreading placement-in-service across two tax years serves you better than compressing it into one.
How the deduction works on financed equipment
The mechanism is the same as in any equipment purchase, and it is the reason financing and expensing pair well: the deduction follows the purchase price and the placed-in-service date, not how much of the loan you have repaid.
Work an example. Take a refurbished CT at $600,000, financed over 60 months at an assumed 9% and commissioned in October 2026, with a 32% combined marginal rate. Your actual rate will differ; this is arithmetic, not a quote:
Illustrative. Assumes sufficient taxable income to absorb the deduction and that the scanner is operational by December 31.
The part that gets left out
This is a timing benefit, not free money, and in imaging the back end is heavier than elsewhere because the assets are larger.
In years two through five of that CT loan you make roughly $149,460 in annual payments with no remaining depreciation on that scanner. What you still deduct is interest and the service contract. At 8% to 12% of purchase price, that contract runs $48,000 to $72,000 a year on a $600,000 system, and it stays an ordinary operating expense throughout.
Centers that take a very large deduction in an opening year and then face a normal year of income sometimes find the following years tighter than modeled. That is not an argument for skipping the election, but for running the multi-year picture with your CPA rather than optimizing December in isolation.
Section 179 or bonus depreciation first?
The general ordering most CPAs use is Section 179 first, up to the cap and the income limit, then 100% bonus depreciation on the remaining basis. The distinctions that matter in an imaging buildout:
- The income limitation. A center in its first year often has heavy placed-in-service value and light collections. Section 179 cannot create a loss; bonus can. Disallowed Section 179 carries forward indefinitely.
- Selectivity. Section 179 applies asset by asset and can be taken partially, which is useful for managing income into a target bracket. Bonus applies to a whole asset class unless you elect out.
- The phase-out. Only Section 179 phases out above $4,090,000. Bonus does not, which is why large buildouts lean on it.
- State conformity. Many states cap or decouple from federal Section 179 and bonus rules. On a seven-figure scanner that difference is real money, and it is a state-by-state question.
What imaging equipment qualifies
Tangible personal property used more than 50% in the business generally qualifies:
- MRI, CT, PET/CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and mammography systems
- Injectors, workstations, and patient monitoring
- PACS hardware and imaging software
- Chillers and dedicated mechanical serving the equipment
- Office furniture, computers, and networking
Refurbished systems qualify. The asset has to be new to you, not new to the world: a certified refurbished 1.5T is eligible on the same terms as a new one, provided it was not acquired from a related party.
Shielding and vault construction are the grey area. An RF cage installed as a permanent building improvement follows real-property rules rather than equipment rules, and the treatment depends on how it is installed and documented. This is one of the more common places imaging centers and their CPAs end up in a cost segregation study, and it is worth asking about before the invoice is written rather than after.
Placed in service: the December 31 problem
Placed in service means installed, calibrated, accepted, and available for its intended use. It does not mean delivered, paid for, or sitting in the vault awaiting a physicist.
This bites harder in imaging than anywhere else, because commissioning is a multi-party process: rigging, install, OEM calibration, and in most jurisdictions a medical physicist survey and state registration before the first patient scan. A scanner delivered December 15 and surveyed January 8 is a 2027 deduction.
If the deduction is part of your plan for this tax year, work backward from December 31 through the physicist's calendar, not the delivery date. And start the financing conversation early enough that funding is never the item holding up the install.
What happens when you sell or trade the scanner
Depreciation recapture. Gain up to the depreciation taken is generally recaptured as ordinary income under Section 1245. In imaging this matters more than in most verticals because trade-in and upgrade cycles are real: a center that fully expenses a CT and trades it four years later against a new system will meet recapture in that transaction. It is not a reason to skip the election, but it belongs in the model.
Mistakes that cost imaging centers money
- Missing the physicist survey before year end and moving the whole deduction a year.
- Assuming an FMV operating lease qualifies. It does not, because the lessor owns the asset. A $1 buyout lease or a loan does.
- Ignoring the income limitation in an opening year, when bonus depreciation was the right tool.
- Treating shielding as equipment without confirming the treatment.
- Overlooking state decoupling on a seven-figure asset.
- Buying capacity you cannot fill for the deduction. A 32% deduction still leaves 68% of the cost as real money out the door.
The bottom line
The 2026 rules are generous: $2,560,000 under Section 179 and permanent 100% bonus depreciation on top. In imaging the planning question is not whether to expense but how to sequence: which assets take Section 179, what bonus absorbs, whether the income limitation binds this year, and whether placing everything in service in one year is better than splitting across two. Bring your CPA the equipment list and the commissioning schedule together well before December, then lock the financing early so the physicist is the only thing on the critical path. Tell us the placed-in-service date you are targeting.
On rates: Any range on this page is illustrative rather than a quote. Your actual rate can come in higher or lower, and it depends on personal and business credit, time in business, the equipment itself, the term you choose, and the size of the transaction. Two files for the same machine can price differently. It is also worth checking the date on anything you read elsewhere. A good deal of the equipment-finance content still circulating was written when prime was 3.25%, and prime is 6.75% today, so if you happen to come across rates like 5% or 6%, it is worth confirming whether the page is current before you plan around it. The surest way to know your number is to let us price your file.
Section 179 questions imaging operators ask
Does an MRI qualify for Section 179 in 2026?
Yes. MRI, CT, PET/CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and mammography systems are tangible personal property and generally qualify when used more than 50% in the business and placed in service during the tax year. The 2026 Section 179 cap is $2,560,000, which a single new 3T MRI can consume on its own. Amounts above the cap can generally be covered by 100% bonus depreciation.
What is the Section 179 limit for 2026?
The 2026 Section 179 deduction limit is $2,560,000, up from $1,250,000 in 2025. It phases out dollar-for-dollar once qualifying property placed in service exceeds $4,090,000 and is fully phased out at $6,650,000. Separately, 100% bonus depreciation is permanent for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025.
Does refurbished imaging equipment qualify for Section 179?
Yes. Equipment must be new to your business, not new to the world. A certified refurbished MRI, CT, or mammography system qualifies on the same terms as new equipment, provided it is used more than 50% in the business, placed in service during the tax year, and not acquired from a related party.
Can you deduct MRI shielding and vault construction?
It depends on how it is installed and documented. RF shielding installed as a permanent building improvement generally follows real-property rules rather than equipment rules, which are less favorable. This is a common trigger for a cost segregation study in imaging. Raise it with your CPA before the invoice is written rather than after.
Should an imaging center use Section 179 or bonus depreciation?
Most CPAs apply Section 179 first, up to the $2,560,000 cap and the taxable income limit, then 100% bonus depreciation on remaining basis. Bonus matters more in imaging because it has no cap and no income limitation, so it covers large buildouts and opening years where Section 179 cannot create a loss. State conformity varies and should be confirmed.
When is imaging equipment 'placed in service' for tax purposes?
When it is installed, calibrated, accepted, and available for its intended use. Delivery and payment do not count. In imaging this typically requires OEM calibration plus, in most jurisdictions, a medical physicist survey and state registration. A scanner delivered in mid-December but surveyed in January is a deduction for the following tax year.
Do you pay tax later on a scanner you wrote off?
Potentially. If you sell or trade the equipment, gain up to the depreciation taken is generally recaptured as ordinary income under Section 1245. This matters in imaging because upgrade and trade-in cycles are common: a center that fully expenses a CT and trades it four years later will meet recapture in that transaction.
Related imaging center financing guides
More on financing equipment for a diagnostic imaging center.
Commissioning before December 31?
Imaging installs have long lead times and a physicist on the critical path. Tell us the date and we will work backward from it.
This article is general information about commercial equipment financing and is not a commitment to finance. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting. Rates, terms, and approval depend on the complete business and credit profile. Figures shown are illustrative market ranges gathered from published sources as of August 2026 and are not an offer. Five West Financial is not a tax advisor or an accounting firm; confirm any tax treatment with your CPA before relying on it.