The question of whether to depreciate or expense would be entirely up to you and what the potential tax savings may be. Since you state this was for a home office, you must determine if expensing the item, after the percentage allocation to the office, will yield a loss on your Schedule C. Home office expenses cannot add to the expense of the business to generate a loss; the most home office expenses can do is reduce the income to zero. If expensing will have the business show a loss, then depreciation without the special added depreciation will probably be the solution.
Also, what did the generator cost? Was it less than $2,500? If so the allocation to the home office will suggest you expense the amount as supplies or some such other component. You should first complete your Schedule C before adding the generator and determining your income status. If after you determine the income amount, you will decide whether to depreciate or expense.
Some questions you need to ask yourself also: As you are filing a Schedule C, remember that in addition to income tax you also have self-employment tax of approximately 15% and will the 2 separate taxes warrant a quick write off? Is this an up year or down year income wise? If an up year you may want to expense. If a down year you may want to depreciate to save some to be able to expense for future years.
Like I said at the beginning, the decision is yours but needs to be determined based on the current or potential future tax savings.
@myrnaez
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