Can You Deduct Your Nvidia 5090 Graphics Card for Taxes?

If you are buying the graphics card just for personal gaming, forget about it. You cannot take deductions on personal gaming. For content creators and businesses relying on high-performance GPUs such as AI training and crypto mining, an Nvidia 5090 GPU could be a deductible expense. However, you cannot deduct the entire cost as an expense in the year because a GPU is usually treated as a capital expenditure. To deduct a 5090 graphics card for taxes, you will need to depreciate it.

• Section 179 Deduction. For many small businesses, you may be able to depreciate the full cost of your graphics card in the year you place it in service under Section 179. There are potential traps if the business use percentage declines.
• Depreciation. If not eligible for Section 179 deduction, you may still be able to enjoy the 40% bonus depreciation for 2025, and the rest can be depreciated over 5 years according to The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS).
• Proof of Use. Keep receipts and document how you use the card for work to support your deduction.

If you use the card for both personal and business purposes (i.e. edit professional videos during the day and play games at night), only the business portion is deductible. Some accelerated methods of depreciation may also be unavailable when business use is less than 50%.

Keeping the Tax Benefits

Expenses that are properly documented and reported can better withstand future uncertainty such as audits. If you lose all the records and get audited, the deductions you took may be invalidated and cause penalties and interests.