Finance Your Next Press, Reclaim Line, or CTS — And Write It Off This Year
Section 179 lets your business deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment in the year it's placed in service. Combine that with 100% bonus depreciation, finance the equipment, and get the deduction even while making payments.
Presses, dryers, reclaim lines, CTS units, embroidery machines, and more — see the full list of qualifying equipment below.
Section 179 — By the Numbers for 2026
The most favorable equipment expensing rules in over a decade
What Is Section 179 (In Plain English)?
Normally when your shop buys a piece of equipment, the IRS makes you depreciate it over 5 to 7 years — meaning you only get to deduct a small slice of the cost each year. Section 179 of the IRS tax code lets you deduct the full purchase price right now, in the same year you place the equipment in service. Bigger deduction this year, lower tax bill this year, more cash kept in your business this year.
It applies to both new and used equipment. It applies whether you pay cash or finance the purchase — you get the full deduction even on financed equipment, even while making payments. And the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) restored 100% bonus depreciation, so any cost above the Section 179 limit gets fully deducted as well.
We’re a screen printing supplier — not your CPA. The information on this page reflects 2026 federal Section 179 rules at the time of writing. Confirm your specific eligibility, deduction amount, and state tax treatment with your tax professional before filing.
A Real Example — What Section 179 Does to a $75,000 Equipment Purchase
Say your shop buys a Bluewater R-2536C automated reclaim machine for $75,000 — and your business is in a combined 35% federal + state tax bracket. Here’s what the math looks like:
| Line Item | Without Section 179 | With Section 179 |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $75,000 | $75,000 |
| First-year deduction | ~$15,000 (5-yr depreciation) | $75,000 (full) |
| Tax savings at 35% | $5,250 | $26,250 |
| Effective net cost | $69,750 | $48,750 |
In this example, Section 179 cuts the effective cost of the equipment by $21,000 in the first year alone. The math gets bigger on larger purchases — CTS systems, presses, automatic coaters, and full reclaim lines all qualify.
Illustrative example only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, the equipment, and your business income. Your CPA will run the exact numbers for your shop.
Why Finance + Section 179 Beats Paying Cash
Spread the Cost. Deduct the Whole Thing.
Financing lets you spread payments across months, but Section 179 lets you deduct the full purchase price right now. Your shop keeps working capital available for inks, screens, payroll, and growth instead of locking it into a single equipment purchase.
Tax Savings Often Cover Months of Payments
For many shops, the first-year tax savings from Section 179 cover several months of equipment financing payments outright. The equipment essentially pays for itself in tax-deferred dollars while it's already in production.
Equipment Earns While You Pay for It
A reclaim line or CTS unit starts generating revenue and labor savings the day it's installed. Financing aligns the cost with the revenue the equipment produces — instead of forcing a big lump sum before the equipment ever runs a job.
Approvals in Hours, Not Weeks
Equipment financing through our partner moves faster than traditional bank loans. Most complete applications get a decision the same business day — critical when you're trying to place equipment in service before the December 31 deadline.
100% Bonus Depreciation Stacks On Top
If you ever exceed the $2.56M Section 179 limit, 100% bonus depreciation kicks in on top — meaning even very large investments get fully deducted in the first year. There's effectively no ceiling on what qualifies.
Works on New and Used Equipment
Section 179 doesn't care whether the equipment is brand new from the factory or pre-owned — as long as it's new to your shop and used more than 50% for business. Whole categories of capital expenditure qualify.
What You’ll Need to Apply
Gathering these items ahead of time makes the application a 10-minute process instead of a back-and-forth
Required Business Information
Required Owner / Guarantor Information
For Larger Equipment Purchases (Over ~$75,000)
Larger transactions typically require additional documentation. Have these ready and your file moves through underwriting faster:
What Screen Printing Equipment Qualifies?
Essentially any tangible business equipment you place in service in 2026 qualifies for Section 179. Here are the categories we see screen printers finance most often:
Manual & Automatic Presses
Vastex, ROQ, Anatol, M&R, and other manual and automatic screen printing presses
Dryers & Flash Cure Units
BBC Blackbody conveyor dryers, Vastex flash cure units, gas and electric infrared
Reclaim & Washout
Bluewater automated reclaim machines (R-2536C, R-2536S, R-2536L), IR-2 ink remover, washout booths
CTS / Laser-to-Screen
Saati LTS 8012, Chromaline LTS E70B, Exile Spyder II, and other direct-to-screen imaging systems
Auto Coaters & Exposure
Saati ProCoat, Grunig G-COAT, automatic coaters, LED exposure units
DTF & Inkjet Printers
STS, Epson SureColor, Sawgrass, DTF printer + powder shaker systems, RIP software
Heat Presses
Geo Knight, Stahls Hotronix, MAXX, clamshell and swing-away heat presses
Embroidery Machines
Single-head and multi-head commercial embroidery machines, hooping systems
How Financing Works at River City Supply
Tell Us What You're Buying
Call (512) 454-0505 or email [email protected]. We’ll prepare a formal quote for the equipment, configuration, and any included accessories or training.
Submit the Application
We hand off your equipment quote and your contact info to our financing partner. They send you a short online application — takes about 10 minutes if you have the information from the “What You’ll Need to Apply” section above ready.
Get a Decision — Usually Same Day
Most complete applications get an approval decision the same business day. The financing partner sends you the proposed terms — monthly payment, term length, and any conditions. You decide whether to accept.
Sign and Ship
Sign the financing docs electronically. The financing partner pays River City Supply directly and we release your equipment to ship. Your first payment is typically due 30 days after the equipment is delivered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The Section 179 deduction applies to the full purchase price of the equipment, even if you’re making monthly payments on it. The deduction is tied to when the equipment is placed in service — not when you finish paying for it. This is one of the reasons financing-plus-Section-179 is so attractive: you deduct the full cost in year one while spreading the actual cash outlay across multiple years.
The equipment must be placed in service by December 31, 2026 — meaning it’s installed and ready to use in your business by year-end. Just ordering or paying for equipment isn’t enough; it has to be operational. Lead time matters — if you’re ordering a CTS unit or reclaim machine in late Q4, build in time for shipping, installation, and any utility work your shop needs.
If you have the items from the “What You’ll Need to Apply” section ready, the online application itself takes about 10 minutes. Underwriting decisions on most complete applications come back the same business day. From first call to approved financing is typically 24-72 hours, longer for larger or more complex transactions.
Our financing partner looks at the whole picture — time in business, revenue, industry experience, and personal credit. There's no single cutoff score. Strong shops with credit issues can sometimes still qualify with a larger down payment or co-guarantor; newer shops with strong owner credit can qualify even at the 2-year-in-business minimum. The best move is to apply and find out.
Equipment financing terms typically run 24 to 84 months depending on the equipment, the loan amount, and your credit profile. Rates depend on current market conditions and your specific application. The financing partner will quote you exact terms after reviewing your application — we don’t publish rate ranges because they shift with the market and your profile.
Yes — our financing partner doesn’t charge a prepayment penalty. If a great quarter lets you pay off the equipment early, you can.
Section 179 is a federal deduction — it applies on your federal return regardless of state. State tax treatment varies: some states fully conform to federal Section 179 rules, others limit or decouple from them. Ask your CPA whether your state matches federal treatment so you know your total tax savings.
Section 179 is limited to your business's taxable income for the year — you can’t use it to create a net operating loss. But any portion you can’t use carries forward to future years indefinitely. And 100% bonus depreciation (which doesn’t have the same income limitation) can cover the rest. Your CPA will help you sequence the deductions optimally.
We work with a third-party equipment financing partner that specializes in screen printing and decoration equipment. Call us at (512) 454-0505 and we’ll handle the introduction. Our partnership means same-day handoff, fast underwriting, and a financing team that already understands what a reclaim line or CTS unit is — instead of starting from scratch explaining your industry to a generic bank loan officer.
Let's Get Your Equipment Quoted and Financed
Call us with the equipment you're considering. We'll prepare the quote, hand it to our financing partner, and you'll have an approval decision — usually the same business day. Get the equipment installed before December 31 to capture the full 2026 deduction.
Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm CT • San Antonio, Texas