Tax Depreciation for GPU Lessors
In a true lease of GPU servers, the lessor is the tax owner and takes the depreciation.
What a lessor can claim
| Rule | For a GPU lessor | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MACRS class | Computers and peripheral equipment are 5-year property (asset class 00.12, 6-year class life) | IRC 168(i)(2) |
| Bonus depreciation | 100% for qualified property acquired and placed in service after Jan. 19, 2025, unless the lessor elects out by class; 20% for property acquired earlier and placed in service in 2026 | Pub. 946 ch. 3; Notice 2026-11 |
| Section 179, corporate lessor | Available within the limits ($2,560,000 for 2026) | Pub. 946 ch. 2 |
| Section 179, noncorporate lessor | Only for property it made, or a lease under half the class life (under 3 years for computers) where its ordinary deductions on the property exceed 15% of rent in the first 12 months | IRC 179(d)(5) |
| Syndication | Property a lessor places in service and sells within 3 months, with the same user, is treated as placed in service by the buyer, no earlier than the last sale | Pub. 946 ch. 3 |
Who is the tax owner
The one with the incidents of ownership. Legal title, the obligation to pay, maintenance and operating costs, taxes, and the risk of loss, including obsolescence (Publication 946). A lessor can depreciate even if the lessee maintains the equipment, unless the lessee must return the same property or its equivalent in value.
The label on the contract does not decide it. Payments that build equity, title after a set number of payments, payments well above fair rental value, or a purchase option at a nominal price point to a conditional sale, and then the lessee is the owner (Publication 535). Leveraged leases, with a lender to the lessor, may not be treated as leases; Rev. Proc. 2001-28 sets the IRS's advance-ruling guidelines. The lessee side is in lease vs buy; the financing side in GPU lease vs loan.
Used servers can qualify for bonus. If the lessor never used them and bought them from an unrelated party (IRC 168(k)). The acquisition date follows the written binding contract, so an order signed before January 20, 2025 can keep property on the older schedule.
Recapture at lease end
Gain is ordinary income up to the depreciation taken. Servers are section 1245 property: on a sale, including a sale-leaseback, gain up to the depreciation allowed or allowable, bonus and section 179 included, is ordinary income; gain above that is section 1231 gain (Publication 544).
After 100% bonus, the whole residual is gain. The basis is zero, so what the servers sell for is the gain. Our GPU residual value report and resale index track what that can be.
Other rules to raise with tax counsel. Rental activities are generally passive (Publication 925). Many states have decoupled from federal bonus depreciation (state conformity). Book lives follow different rules (useful-life tracker). The MACRS calculator shows a schedule by year.
General information, not tax advice. Talk to your tax advisor about your situation.
Underwriting the residual on a GPU lease?
Residual value insurance puts a floor under the resale value of covered equipment at a covered trigger date, subject to its terms. It addresses value, not tax treatment.
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Questions
- Can you take bonus depreciation on leased equipment?
- The lessor can, as the tax owner in a true lease, subject to the allowance’s own rules. The lessee in a true lease does not depreciate the equipment.
- Does residual value insurance change the tax treatment?
- No claim is made here that any insurance or service produces a tax result. Residual value insurance addresses resale value at a covered trigger date.