it's an overall computation. 179 is allowed to the extent of business income determined before the 179 deductions. a way around the 179 deduction limit is to use bonus deprecition (168(k) - specialdepreciation. however, some states have different bonus rules than the IRS so you may not be able to expense 100% of the cost using 168 (k) for some states. however, some states may have a different limit than the federal for the 179 deduction. the best advice if you have a state return read the instructions and look at the forms to see if any lines mention 179 or 168(k)
