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assets placed in service after December 31, 1980 (as the King Air
was), is generally determined under the accelerated cost recovery
system (ACRS) of section 168. See sec. 168(a); C&M Amusements,
Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-527. Application of ACRS
is generally mandatory and precludes computation of depreciation
based on estimated useful life for tangible property acquired
after 1980. See C&M Amusements, Inc. v. Commissioner, supra;
Grinalds v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-66.
ACRS deductions are determined using the “applicable
recovery period”, along with prescribed depreciation methods and
conventions. Sec. 168(a). Here, the parties disagree only about
the applicable recovery period, so we confine our consideration
to that issue.
Under ACRS, aircraft are classified as “7-year property”.
Section 168(e)(3)(C); Rev. Proc. 87-56, 1987-2 C.B. 674 (asset
class 45.0), clarified and modified by Rev. Proc. 88-22, 1988-1
C.B. 785. The applicable recovery period for 7-year property is
7 years. See sec. 168(c)(1). Therefore, pursuant to section
168(a), petitioner must depreciate the King Air over 7 years.
Accordingly, petitioner is not entitled to additional
depreciation based on an asserted 5-year useful life of the King
Air.
Furthermore, petitioner is not entitled to any allowance
under section 179. Generally, section 179(a) permits a taxpayer
to elect to expense the cost of tangible personal property for
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