A vehicle needs facts an ordinary asset does not: its weight rating, its body, and how much it is used for business. DepreciationPro collects them in one section and computes the limits from what it finds there.
Where the fields are
On the asset's Tax tab, headed Vehicle Information (Optional). The section renders on every asset whose property type is Personal Property, whether or not it is a vehicle.
Three fields:
VIN, up to 17 characters, with a Look up VIN button
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), in pounds
Business Use Percentage
What makes an asset a vehicle
DepreciationPro treats an asset as a vehicle when it carries a VIN, or a GVWR, or body data from a VIN decode that identifies one. Leave all three empty and the asset is not a vehicle as far as the calculation is concerned.
Looking up a VIN
Type the VIN and click Look up VIN. A blue card returns Year, Make, Model, GVWR Class, and a GVWR upper bound where the lookup has them.
If the GVWR field is empty, the decoded weight is applied for you.
If it already holds a different figure, an Apply GVWR button lets you take the decoded one.
If the decode carries no weight: "GVWR not available from VIN lookup. Please enter GVWR manually below."
If the lookup is down: "VIN lookup unavailable. You can still save the asset and enter GVWR manually."
A VIN must be exactly 17 characters, letters A-H, J-N, P, R-Z and digits 0-9. Letters I, O, and Q are refused.
What GVWR changes
GVWR on the asset | What the product applies |
6,000 lb or less | The §280F passenger-automobile limit |
Above 6,000 lb | No passenger-automobile limit |
Blank, on a detected vehicle | The §280F limit, as a safeguard, until you supply the weight |
A vehicle confirmed as qualified non-personal-use steps outside those limits, and outside the business-use rules below.
What business use changes
Leave the field blank and the calculation treats business use as 100%.
Enter a figure below 100 and each component of the current year's deduction, §179, bonus, and MACRS, is reduced by that proportion.
Enter 50 or less and the asset is computed on ADS rates, with a calculation note: "ADS required: business use 50% (listed property rule)". From year two onwards, DepreciationPro also works out the excess against ADS and shows it in the panel as Business Use Recapture Triggered, with a year-by-year table.
Enter exactly 100 and you get a note back: "Warning: 100% business use claimed - may be subject to IRS audit scrutiny". It is a note, not a block.
The needs-review panel
An amber block inside the Vehicle Information section reads Needs review, with a count of items, and lists only the questions this vehicle actually raises. Each is a yes or no control. Unanswered ones are visually distinct.
What triggers which question:
Trigger | Question raised |
No GVWR on the vehicle | Confirm the GVWR |
A decoded GVWR range that could cross 6,000 or 14,000 lb | Confirm the GVWR |
Pickup or truck body | Is the cargo bed 6 feet or longer |
Van or cargo body | Is it a cargo van, and does it seat more than nine passengers |
GVWR between 6,001 and 14,000 lb | All three body questions |
No business-use percentage | Supply the business-use percentage |
Any flagged vehicle | Is it a qualified non-personal-use vehicle |
Answering the cargo-bed question yes reveals an optional bed length in inches. The yes or no is what the calculation reads. The length is documentation.
A collapsed Other edge cases section under the triggered ones offers the questions this vehicle did not raise, in case you want to answer them anyway.
Answer everything and the block collapses to a quiet Vehicle reviewed — edit button. Click it to reopen the answers.
Watching the effect as you answer
On an existing asset, each answer is priced as you give it. The panel shows the dollar swing the confirmation caused, computed by the same engine that produces the figures on the right.
On the Add asset form there is no figure yet. The questions appear before your first save, but the impact shows once the asset exists.
The badge on the assets grid
An amber Needs review pill next to a vehicle on the Assets tab means the same thing, with the tooltip "Vehicle edge case — needs review. Open the asset to confirm the details."
The flag moves no number on its own. It is telling you the limit cannot be settled from what is on file yet. An imported vehicle often arrives without a weight or a business-use percentage, which is the usual reason it appears.
Mileage substantiation
Once the asset carries a GVWR, a Mileage Substantiation block appears under the review panel, for Form 4562 Part V Section B.
Enter Business Miles, Commuting Miles, and Personal Miles. Total Miles is summed for you, and a line underneath reports the business-use percentage those miles imply, so you can compare it with what you typed above.