Send your tax preparer more than the equipment receipt

Keep the supplier invoice, asset description, purchase date, location, and evidence of when the asset was ready and available for its intended business use. The invoice date, payment date, delivery date, and placed-in-service date can differ. Give the preparer the facts rather than choosing the most convenient date.

For an installation project, include completion or acceptance records where relevant. Equipment still awaiting essential setup may require a different assessment from equipment already in use. The IRS depreciation guidance explains placed-in-service concepts and other requirements; the preparer should apply them to the actual asset.

Provide acquisition charges, freight, installation, taxes, rebates, trade-ins, and financing documents where applicable. Not every amount necessarily receives identical treatment, but omitting it prevents the preparer from making a complete assessment. Separate the asset's purchase price from the amount of the initial cash deposit.

Suppose an illustrative machine has a $15,000 invoice and is partly financed with a $12,000 loan. The $3,000 down payment does not mean the machine cost only $3,000. The records need to explain both the asset acquisition and the financing obligation.

Where an asset has business and personal use, retain the records needed to support the allocation. Do not substitute a guessed percentage at filing time. Tell the preparer about changes in use, relocation, damage, sale, or disposal during the year.

For an asset sold or traded in, include the original asset reference, sale proceeds, selling costs, and agreement. An item removed from the office can remain on the depreciation schedule if finance never receives the disposal information. Compare the physical asset list with the accounting register before the tax packet is finalized.

Ask the preparer to identify proposed depreciation methods or elections and explain material differences from book treatment. Eligibility, limits, and consequences can change, so do not rely on a prior-year deduction rule or a supplier's tax-saving claim without current professional review.

Retain the final tax depreciation schedule and any approved book adjustments with the asset register. Preserve supporting records for the period required by the applicable rules, including information needed when the asset is later disposed of. The next preparer should be able to follow the asset from acquisition through its remaining basis without rebuilding the history.