We bought a refrigerator for the office. What account would that go under? A Fixed asset?? Office Supplies?

Something else to consider -- usually companies set up a threshold for recording fixed assets.  For example, maybe $300 is the amount -- anything less than that would be an expense and not set up as a fixed asset.  For example, a stapler should last more than a year, but we wouldn't set it up as a fixed asset and calculate depreciation on it.  A $50 - $100 microwave would also be expensed.

Usually your accountant or tax professional maintains the details about depreciation.  Consult with them about what is right for your business and for help on acquiring or disposing of fixed assets.

Thank you! That's what I was assuming, but I just wanted to make sure.

You're most welcome! =)

Hello. We bought a microwave for the office a few years ago. Recorded under fixed asset account, created a subaccount for appliances. Recently it stopped working completely and we threw it out. How do I record this?

Note : We never calculated or considered depreciation on it.

"We never calculated or considered depreciation on it."

It might have been part of the tax reporting as Expensed already. Check this to see if the Bookkeeping just wasn't done. Otherwise:

The value of the asset and any recaptured depreciation are moved to Expense as "loss on dispoal of asset."

I bought furniture and have the same question. If I make a "Furniture" account that's a "Fixed Asset" and I 179 it on my taxes, then it moves to "expenses"? Like put make it a sub-account "Furniture" under "Office"? Under office, I have a variety of subcategories that include day to day things (like paper) and other subcategories for things like plants and extension cords. Thanks!

@tara
You posted in a topic from June 2015. You know there are new Tax Laws voted in Dec 2017.

Please note that Printer Paper, Plants, etc are Not Fixed Assets; these are regular Office Expense. Think of the difference as between Expense = all used up quickly (printer paper, toner cartridge, electricity) vs Expenditure (desks and new walls and flooring and vehicles) = having a useful life of more than one year, lasts a long time but wears out over that time a bit = Depreciation. Section 179 is part of Accelerated Depreciation.

And what you asked might not even apply at all, now that this is no longer 2015 (the year of this topic) but 2018.

For instance, everything you used to know about Depreciation is changing. This is from an IRS e-newsletter just last week:

"The 100-percent depreciation deduction generally applies to depreciable business assets with a recovery period of 20 years or less and certain other property. Machinery, equipment, computers, appliances and furniture generally qualify.

The deduction is retroactive, applying to qualifying property acquired and placed in service after Sept. 27, 2017. The proposed regulations provide guidance on what property qualifies for the deduction and rules for qualified film, television, live theatrical productions and certain plants."

What that means is that Section 179 might be Superseded and will be removed from the tax code. And pay attention to the word "retroactive" = applied to the end of Last Year.

I just got back from the IRS Tax Forum 2018 and know 179 is not going away. As a matter of fact, the limit was increased to $1 million! and yes, depreciation has changed a lot. You can speed up depreciation much more now but that just you means you expose yourself more than ever to recapture.

And yes, I should have started a new question instead of asking within an old question. Sorry about that.

Oh BTW, I was able to get my question answered in another forum.

Oh, I should have pointed out that I am a tax preparer, so I'm very familiar with the new tax laws. It just occurred to me this isn't a tax preparer forum.

I still highlight that the word "Proposed" is in the IRS notification, so nothing is a given.

This is a QB user forum.

@tara
As a Tax Preparer, then, you know the Tax Returns never ask you to report Printer Paper or Plants. You don't need to Micro-manage Expenses like that; the tax form this entity files has the Best reference for the Chart of Accounts. You don't need more details.