How Business Owners Are Saving Up to $111K on a Bowlus | Section 179 Explained

What if your next Bowlus could pay for itself by reducing your tax bill by tens of thousands of dollars before December 31st? That is not hypothetical. For business owners across the country, that is exactly what Section 179 makes possible.

Hi, I’m Geneva Long, CEO of Bowlus, and today we’re going to talk about something that gets a lot of our business owner clients very excited. It’s called Section 179, and if you run a business and you’re considering a Bowlus, this could be one of the most financially significant conversations you’ve had all year.

I want to walk you through what Section 179 actually is, why a Bowlus qualifies in a way that most RVs and SUVs simply do not, and what the potential federal tax savings could look like for you. By the end of this video, you will understand exactly why so many of our owners structure their Bowlus purchase through their business.

Quick caveat before you go further. I’m not an accountant, and Bowlus does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Everything I share today is for educational purposes, and you absolutely need to consult your own tax and accounting professionals before making any decisions based on this information.

With that said, let’s get into it. So what is Section 179? Section 179 of the IRS tax code is a deduction designed to encourage small and medium businesses to invest in themselves. In a regular year, when your company buys a piece of equipment, you typically depreciate it slowly over several years. So if you spend $50,000 on a machine, you might write off $10,000 a year for five years. That is the traditional way.

Section 179 changes that math entirely. It allows your business to write off the full purchase price of qualifying equipment in the year you buy it. So instead of spreading $50,000 over five years, you deduct the full $50,000 right away against your gross income. That dramatically reduces your taxable income for the year, which means a much smaller tax bill.

For 2025, the deduction limit is $2.5 million, and the spending cap is $4 million before the deduction begins to phase out. That is why Section 179 is really considered a small and medium business incentive. Larger companies that spend beyond those thresholds see the benefit reduced on a dollar-by-dollar basis.

Now, here is where Bowlus really gets interesting compared to other RVs you might be looking at. The IRS has specific rules for vehicles. There is a category called heavy sport utility vehicles, which the IRS defines as vehicles with four wheels, primarily designed or used to carry passengers over public streets, roads, or highways. For those vehicles, even if they weigh between 6,000 and 14,000 pounds, the maximum Section 179 deduction is capped at just over $31,000.

Here’s the critical distinction. A Bowlus is a travel trailer. It’s not a passenger vehicle. It does not meet the IRS definition of a heavy SUV, and that means the $31,000 cap simply does not apply. Instead, a Bowlus can qualify for the full Section 179 deduction up to the $2.5 million limit, assuming all other requirements are met.

Compare that to a Class B RV built on a sprinter van chassis. Because that is a passenger vehicle by IRS definition, it gets capped at $31,300. So even if you spend $200,000 on that Class B, you can only deduct just over $31,000 in the first year. With a Bowlus, the math looks completely different.

Let me give you some real examples. These assume 100% business use of your Bowlus, that you are under the deduction limits, that you are in the top federal tax bracket of 37%, and that you depreciate the Bowlus 100% in the first year.

If you purchase a Bowlus at $150,000, your potential federal tax savings could be just over $55,000. At $200,000 for a Bowlus, you are looking at roughly $74,000 in federal savings. At $250,000 for a Bowlus, that jumps to around $92,000 in tax savings. And at $300,000, your potential federal tax savings could reach $111,000.

If you live in a state like New Mexico that conforms to Federal Section 179, and you’re in the highest state bracket of 5.9%, you could see additional savings of up to $17,000 on top of the federal numbers I just mentioned.

To put that in perspective, the tax savings alone on a Bowlus Endless Highways at $185,000 could exceed $68,000 in federal tax savings if all the assumptions line up for your situation. That is not a small number. For many of our business owner clients, this is the difference that makes purchasing a Bowlus right now genuinely strategic.

So what counts as qualifying equipment? Most tangible business use property qualifies, including business use vehicles. The equipment can be new or used as long as it’s new to you and your business. It can be financed or purchased outright. The key requirement is that it must be placed into service between January 1st and December 31st of the tax year you want to claim the deduction.

There is also the more than 50% business use requirement. Your Bowlus has to be used for business purposes more than half the time. If your business use is 80% and your personal use is 20%, you multiply the cost of the Bowlus by 80%, and that is the amount eligible for Section 179.

One more piece worth understanding is bonus depreciation. For 2025, bonus depreciation is back at 100% for both new and used equipment. Bonus depreciation generally kicks in after you’ve reached the Section 179 spending cap. So for most small and medium businesses, Section 179 is the primary lever, but knowing both exist gives you and your accountant more flexibility in structuring your purchase.

A quick note on financing. If you plan to finance your Bowlus through your business, you will want to work with your own business lending relationship. Our recommended consumer lender handles personal RV lending only, so for a business-structured purchase, your bank or your business lender may be the best path for you.

Here is why I wanted to make this video right now. We’re heading towards the second half of the year, and if you’ve had a strong year financially, this is exactly the time to start talking with your accountant about whether a Bowlus makes sense as a year-end equipment purchase for your business. The vehicle has to be placed into service by December 31st, and our build slots fill up quickly. So if this is something that you’re considering, the conversation needs to happen before fall, and certainly not after Thanksgiving.

Our team at the Bowlus of Santa Barbara showroom can walk you through which Bowlus model fits your needs, whether that’s the Rivet, the Endless Highways, or the Frontier Edition. Bowlus of Santa Barbara is our exclusive sales location, and we have a mobile service network that takes care of you wherever you travel after you take delivery. Geography is never a barrier to ownership.

If you found this helpful, hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss our next video where I’m going to walk you through how some of our owners are actually using their Bowluses for business, from mobile offices, to client experience programs, to remote work from anywhere they want to be.

If you have specific questions about a Bowlus purchase for your business, the best next step is to reach out to our team. We can connect you with our showroom in Santa Barbara and walk you through all of the models, help you start the conversation with your tax professional.

And remember, please consult your own tax and accounting advisors before making any decisions. The numbers in these videos are illustrated based on specific assumptions, and your situation is unique.

Thanks for watching. I’m Geneva Long, and I’ll see you in the next one.