Section 179 Expense Election - Immediate deduction of assets

[Evan Barney]

Hi everyone, I am currently taking a Tax Analysis class at my university and I came across Section 179 in the tax code. Based on the discussion in class, it seems that as a business owner you can elect to immediately expense cost of an asset, rather than recover cost over time through MACRS depreciation. 

To my understanding, in previous years Section 179 only applied to 5 YR and 7 YR Personal Property; which includes vehicles, computers, peripheral equipment for 5 YR and furniture & fixtures, machinery, and equipment for 7 YR. 

So my first question: Does this mean that I can immediately deduct the cost of assets such as major appliances from my Business Income? I would appreciate any examples anyone has regarding the use of Section 179. 

Furthermore, I saw that the new 2018 tax code has expanded Section 179 to include 15 YR qualified improvements. Specifically, "any improvement to an interior portion of a building that is nonresidential real property if such improvement is placed in service after the date such building was first placed in service". 

Hence my second question: Does this addition to only relate to Commercial and Industrial real estate due to the "nonresidential real property" clause? And, is there more clarification as to what is classified as an "improvement"? 

I know this is a long post so thanks in advance if you read through it all! I appreciate any responses.