Are Security Cameras Tax Deductible? Section 179, Bonus Depreciation, and the 2026 Rules for Business Security Systems
Security spending is one of the few purchases the tax code goes out of its way to name. Congress wrote security systems into Section 179 explicitly, and most US businesses can write off the entire cost in the year they install it. Here is exactly how, with the current numbers.
Yes. Security cameras bought for business use are tax deductible, and in most cases you do not have to spread the deduction over years. Section 179(f) of the Internal Revenue Code specifically lists security systems among the improvements to nonresidential real property that a business can elect to expense immediately, alongside roofs, HVAC, and fire protection and alarm systems. For tax years beginning in 2026 the Section 179 cap is $2,560,000, phasing out once you place more than $4,090,000 of qualifying property in service. Monitoring software billed as a subscription is simpler still: it is an ordinary business expense you deduct in the year you pay it. This is general information, not tax advice, so run the specifics past your CPA.
Three Ways to Deduct a Security System
The same purchase can land in different places on your return depending on what you bought and how it is billed. These are the three routes, and most businesses use more than one in the same year.
| Route | What it covers | 2026 limit | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 179 expensing | Cameras, recorders, cabling, and the installed security system itself, including as an improvement to a commercial building you own | $2,560,000 cap for tax years beginning in 2026, reduced dollar for dollar above $4,090,000 of qualifying property | Capped at your taxable income from active business. Excess carries forward, it is not lost. |
| Bonus depreciation | The same equipment, useful when a purchase is too large for the 179 cap or when income limits bite | 100 percent, made permanent for qualifying property acquired after January 19, 2025 | Applies by asset class, so you have less line-by-line control than with 179. |
| Ordinary business expense | Monitoring subscriptions, cloud video storage, alarm monitoring fees, maintenance, and repairs | No cap. Deduct what you paid, in the year you paid it | No catch. This is the simplest treatment in the whole list. |
Figures come from Internal Revenue Code Section 179 and IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which sets the 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts. The Section 179 changes trace to Section 70306 of the 2025 budget law, which raised the base cap to $2.5 million and the phase-out threshold to $4 million for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, indexed for inflation after that.
Why Security Systems Get Named in the Statute
Before the 2017 tax law, a security system installed in a building you own was usually treated as a building improvement, which meant depreciating it over 39 years. A camera you paid for in year one produced a deduction that dribbled out until the 2050s. The 2017 changes fixed that by amending Section 179(f) to define qualified real property to include four specific improvements to nonresidential real property: roofs, heating and air conditioning, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.
The practical effect is that a business owner who spends $28,000 wiring cameras into an owned warehouse can elect to expense the whole $28,000 in the year it is placed in service, rather than deducting a few hundred dollars a year for four decades. The improvement has to be made to nonresidential real property and placed in service after the building itself was placed in service. Residential rental property does not qualify under this provision.
Standalone camera equipment that is not a building improvement is easier still. It is tangible personal property used in a trade or business, which has always been Section 179 eligible and is also eligible for bonus depreciation. Either way, the deduction lands in year one.
A Worked Example
Take a distribution business that owns its building and upgrades security in 2026. Round numbers, and the tax rate is illustrative, since your actual rate depends on your entity and your state.
- 16 IP cameras at $400
- $6,400
- Installation, cabling, PoE switches
- $9,600
- Access control on 4 doors
- $12,000
- Cloud AI monitoring, 16 cameras, 12 months
- Subscription
- Capital cost
- $28,000
- The full $28,000 security system is elected under Section 179 on Form 4562 and deducted in 2026, well under the $2,560,000 cap.
- At an illustrative 24 percent effective rate, that deduction is worth about $6,720 in tax, so the net cost of the system lands near $21,280.
- The monitoring subscription is separate. It is an ordinary and necessary business expense, deducted in full each year as you pay it, with no capitalization and no Form 4562 entry.
- If the business had a loss year, Section 179 would be limited by business income, and the unused portion would carry forward. Bonus depreciation has no such income limit, which is why CPAs often combine the two.
Keep the invoices, the install date, and the depreciation schedule with the rest of your equipment and operating expense records, because the deduction turns on when the system was placed in service, not when you signed the contract. A camera sitting in a box on December 31 is not in service.
The Software Route Is Usually the Cheaper Deduction
There is a quiet asymmetry in how these two purchases hit your books. A hardware system is capital: you spend $28,000, you elect Section 179, and you get the deduction now, but the cash left the business. A monitoring subscription is an operating expense: it is fully deductible every year, it scales with the number of cameras, and it does not require a capital approval or a depreciation schedule.
For a business whose cameras already work, that matters. Adding AI video analytics software to existing ONVIF or RTSP cameras costs a few dollars per camera per month, is deductible in the year you pay it, and fixes the thing the cameras never did on their own: actually watching the footage. Buying new hardware to get AI detection is often the most expensive way to buy something you can rent for the price of a deductible subscription.
If you are buying hardware anyway, the tax treatment should not drive the design. Pick the cameras that fit your building, expense them under Section 179, and put the intelligence in software you can change later without a rip-and-replace. Our comparison of the best security cameras for business covers what each system actually costs.
Security Camera Tax Questions
Can you write off security cameras as a business expense?
Yes. Security cameras used in a trade or business are deductible, and Section 179 usually lets you deduct the entire cost in the year the system is placed in service instead of depreciating it. Monitoring and cloud storage subscriptions are deducted separately as ordinary business expenses in the year you pay them.
Do security systems qualify for Section 179?
Yes, explicitly. Section 179(f) defines qualified real property to include improvements to nonresidential real property, and names roofs, heating and air conditioning, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems. The improvement must be placed in service after the building was first placed in service. Residential rental property is excluded.
What is the Section 179 limit for 2026?
For tax years beginning in 2026, the maximum Section 179 deduction is $2,560,000, and the deduction phases out dollar for dollar once you place more than $4,090,000 of qualifying property in service. Those amounts come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and are indexed for inflation each year.
Is a security camera subscription tax deductible?
Yes, and it is the simplest deduction of the group. Cloud video storage, AI monitoring software, and alarm monitoring fees are ordinary and necessary business expenses, deducted in full in the year you pay them. There is no cap, no depreciation schedule, and no placed-in-service test to worry about.
Can a landlord deduct security cameras?
A landlord can deduct security costs, but the Section 179(f) improvement rule applies to nonresidential real property only, so an apartment building does not qualify under that provision. Commercial landlords generally can. Residential landlords typically depreciate the equipment or expense it under other rules. This is exactly the fork to hand to your CPA.
Section 179 or bonus depreciation, which is better?
Section 179 gives you asset-by-asset control but is limited by your taxable business income, with any excess carried forward. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and has no income limit, but it applies across an entire asset class. Many businesses elect 179 on part of the purchase and take bonus on the rest.
This page is general information about US federal tax rules, not tax advice, and it does not create a client relationship. State treatment varies, and several states decouple from federal bonus depreciation. Confirm your position with a CPA before you file.
The deductible upgrade that needs no hardware
Connect the cameras you already expensed and add AI monitoring, alerts, and plain-English search for a few dollars per camera per month.