1. Generally, if the useful life is over one year, you are required to depreciate. You can, however, elect the De Minimus Safe Harbor for Business Assets Under $2500. In this way, you can expense them. The fact that you depreciated the prior appliances does not prevent you from expensing them this year. You can do this each year - expense some assets that are below $2500 and depreciating the ones that exceed $2500.
2. The only way to change the way you depreciated the prior assets is to amend the 2016 return. This would have you paying back the depreciation amounts. I'm not sure that is would not be trading one headache for another. The depreciation for the fence/appliances will just keep rolling in the tax return until the remainder of their useful life. You shouldn't have to refigure the amounts each year. You will have to decide which way to go.
See TurboTaxColeen's answer below for reference.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3930213-can-you-use-de-minimis-safe-harbor-election-or-the-improve...
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
