Between the blueberry farms, lakeshore trades, and small operations around Allegan, a lot of local businesses run on a pickup or a work van rather than a car. The federal tax code has a specific set of rules -- the Section 179 deduction -- for writing off that kind of business vehicle in the year it's bought, and the rules hinge on the vehicle's weight rating as much as its price. Everything below comes from IRS.gov and Chevrolet's own published specifications. It's informational only; it isn't tax advice.
First, the IRS splits vehicles into three weight classes
Section 179 treats a vehicle differently depending on its Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) -- the manufacturer's maximum loaded-weight rating, not curb weight:
- 6,000 lbs GVWR or under — treated as an ordinary passenger automobile under IRC Section 280F, with much lower first-year depreciation limits.
- 6,001 to 14,000 lbs GVWR — the IRS calls this "heavy SUVs and certain other vehicles." Section 179 is capped at $32,000 for 2026, unless the vehicle qualifies for one of three exceptions.
- Over 14,000 lbs GVWR — no $32,000 cap applies at all.
The three exceptions that lift the $32,000 cap in the middle tier: seating for more than nine passengers behind the driver; a cargo area (open or capped) of at least 6 feet in length that isn't readily accessible from the cab; or a fully enclosed cutaway van body with no seating behind the driver. A work van or a long-bed pickup is exactly the kind of vehicle these exceptions were built around.
The dollar limits for 2026
Outside of the vehicle-specific caps above, the overall Section 179 deduction for property placed in service in tax years beginning in 2026 tops out at $2,560,000 for a business, phasing out dollar for dollar once total qualifying purchases for the year exceed $4,090,000. The vehicle (or equipment) has to be used more than 50% for business and placed in service by December 31, 2026, to count for that tax year. On top of Section 179, the 2025 federal tax law (Pub. L. 119-21) brought back 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying property acquired after January 19, 2025 -- which can cover cost above a vehicle's own Section 179 cap.
Good to know: "heavy" in this context is a legal weight class, not a marketing term. A compact crossover and a half-ton pickup can carry the same sticker price and land in entirely different tax treatment because of how each is rated.
What Chevrolet publishes about its own lineup
Chevrolet's commercial site lists the Express 2500 cargo van at up to 8,600 lbs GVWR and the Express 3500 at up to 9,900 lbs GVWR -- both squarely in the 6,001–14,000 lb tier. An Express van's typical two-seat cab with no rear seating is the configuration the cutaway/no-seating exception was written to cover, which is worth asking about on the specific unit you're looking at. Separately, the Silverado 3500HD Chassis Cab is published at a maximum GVWR of 14,000 lbs on chevrolet.com -- right at, not above, the 14,000-lb threshold, so it remains in the capped tier unless its configuration meets one of the three exceptions.
On the lighter end, Equinox and Trax are built on a much lighter platform -- Chevrolet's published curb weights run roughly 3,000 to 3,600 lbs for these crossovers, which keeps their GVWR well under the 6,000-lb threshold in virtually every configuration. That means they fall outside the heavy-vehicle rules entirely and are subject to the standard, lower passenger-automobile depreciation limits instead. Chevrolet doesn't publish an exact GVWR for Silverado 1500, the 2500HD/3500HD pickup body styles, Tahoe, Suburban, or Traverse on its consumer specification pages -- for those, the number on the vehicle's own federal certification label is the one that applies.
Questions we hear
Would an Express cargo van qualify for the full deduction, or the $32,000 cap?
We can't say "it qualifies" in general -- that's determined by the specific van's configuration against the IRS exceptions, and it's a question for your tax professional. What's factual: a standard cargo-van body with no rear seating and cargo not accessible from the cab is the shape of vehicle the no-seating/cutaway exception addresses, and Express GVWR runs 8,600–9,900 lbs, in the tier that cap and those exceptions apply to.
My Equinox is used for business calls and local deliveries -- does it get the same treatment as a Silverado?
No. Equinox and Trax are built light enough that their GVWR falls under 6,000 lbs in essentially every configuration, which puts them under the standard passenger-automobile depreciation limits rather than the heavy-vehicle rules described above.
What's the deadline for a 2026 deduction?
The vehicle has to be placed in service -- actually in use for the business, not just ordered or on order -- by December 31, 2026.
Does a lease qualify the same way as a purchase?
Certain leases can qualify for Section 179, but the rules differ from an outright purchase. That distinction, and how it applies to a specific deal, is a question for a tax professional.
Where do the Express van GVWR figures come from?
They're published directly on chevrolet.com's commercial Express van pages. The exact figure for a specific van in our inventory is on that vehicle's federal certification label.
Is this page tax advice?
No. It's a summary of publicly posted IRS rules (Publication 946 and the Form 4562 instructions) and Chevrolet's own published specifications. Talk to a qualified tax professional about your business and the specific vehicle before buying.
Baker Chevrolet of Allegan, 1255 Lincoln Rd, can check the door-jamb GVWR on any Silverado, Express, or other unit in current inventory. Our commercial/fleet contacts can also provide documentation your tax professional may want to see.