Three-year racehorse depreciation schedule reinstated

The federal budget signed into law Friday includes a provision allowing for a three-year depreciation schedule for racehorses that had expired at the end of 2016, according to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which coordinates federal lobbying efforts on behalf of the Thoroughbred industry.

The three-year depreciation schedule will be applied retroactively to 2017, according to the NTRA, allowing for the uninterrupted use of the depreciation benefit. NTRA officials and other equine lobbying organizations, such as the American Horse Council, had been pressing legislators to extend the schedule because of its financial benefits to racehorse owners.

Before 2008, racehorses that were purchased prior to 24 months of age were depreciated over a seven-year basis, in line with other livestock, but legislation that year allowed horses to be depreciated on a three-year schedule regardless of the age of the horse when it was purchased.

The uniform three-year appreciation schedule had been in place since then, until the expiration of the rule at the end of 2016.