Can you amend previous return to take LESS depreciation?

[Daniel Murphy]

Hey all, I did a cost seg on my rental property last year & wrote off a bunch of bonus depreciation. Unfortunately, I'm facing an upcoming divorce & the easiest solution to my financial situation is to sell this rental.  Rather than pay hefty depreciation recapture tax, can I amend last years return to take less depreciation? 
Last year was the first year the rental was placed in service, so there would be no need to change the accounting method, just the total depreciation amount. 

[Michael Plaks]

@Daniel Murphy

It's too late to elect out of bonus depreciation now. If you file an amended return, it might fly under the radar, but it will be against the rules.

More importantly, it is most likely not beneficial to you. Not sure what you refer to as "hefty". Your depreciation recapture amount is exactly equal to the depreciation previously taken, including bonus depreciation. So if you deducted $100k in bonus depreciation last year, you will have $100k of recapture when you sell. And the rate is probably the same, so it's a wash, unless your income last year was significantly less than your income this year.

Some people mistakenly assume that depreciation recapture rate is 25%. No, it's your normal ("ordinary") rate that is capped at 25%.