Thanks but I am still a little confused. If I buy a new computer (5 year life is what the IRS assigns as I recall), are you saying it can be treated like any other business expense, in particular like purchases for things whose life is one year or less? Or do I, indeed, need to elect this special treatment in order to "expense" it? In your answer, please keep in mind that I am NOT an accountant and may not even truly understand what "expense" it means, other than that I do not need to keep any cost basis or do any depreciation - I think! All else equal, I would rather not deal with depreciation if it is not really necessary.
