Need some help understanding "de minimis safe harbor election"

[avigo45]

I've been reading up on this but still pretty confused. For example, if I bought a new iPhone in 2025 and it is my only phone (used for personal and business use) does "de minimis safe harbor election" apply? If so, how would I approach this?

My phone is used mostly for business (if that matters in this example)

Thank you

[MinhT1]

If your phone costs $2,500 or less, you can use the de minimis safe harbor election to expense it. The $2,500 threshold applies to the full price of the equipment.

Remember that if you use the equipment for both personal and business purposes, you can only expense the business portion.

Please read this TurboTax Help article on the de minimis safe harbor election and how to claim it in TurboTax.

Also read this IRS document.

[avigo45]

Thanks. What exactly is the point of ""de minimis safe harbor election" if you still have to figure out the percentage of usage, etc. just like any other normal write-off?

Followup question, how do you properly deduct  how much of the cost can be written off for business vs. personal use? Thanks again

[CatinaT1]

If you have something that is used both personally and for business you have to determine what percentage of use is business and what percentage is personal. If it's 50/50, you can deduct 50% of the cost. If it's 30% business use and 70% personal, you can deduct 30% of the cost. Keep a record of how you determined the percentage of business and personal use. In TurboTax, you will only enter the business portion of the cost.