We frequently discuss the 6,000 pound exemption from the luxury car depreciation limits that have been around since 1984.

There has recently been some confusion regarding whether the vehicle needs to be constructed on a truck chassis to qualify for the exemption. According to this analysis from CCH, that distinction regarding the chassis may have been removed by IRS.

The IRS announced the applicable 2008 luxury car depreciation caps in Rev. Proc. 2008-22, I.R.B. 2008-12, 658. For the first time since the release of Rev. Proc. 2003-75, the language indicating that an SUV should be considered to be a truck if it was built on a truck chassis was omitted.

In an informal response to a CCH inquiry, the IRS indicated that the language in Rev. Proc. 2003-75 (and the subsequent annual depreciation cap update) was only intended to represent a safe harbor that taxpayers could use to determine whether an SUV qualifies for the higher depreciation caps that apply to trucks and vans with a GVWR of 6000 pounds or less. The IRS either has or will eliminate language in its publications and form instructions that equate an SUV to a truck if it is built on a truck chassis.

Since I have noticed that CCH news stories have a tendency to disappear from their website after a few weeks, I made a PDF copy of this one that you can download.