What Is the Placed in Service Date?

Terms you may need to know (see Glossary):

Placed in service

You begin to claim depreciation when your property is placed in service for either use in a trade or business or the production of income. The placed in service date for your property is the date the property is ready and available for a specific use. It is therefore not necessarily the date it is first used. If you converted property held for personal use to use in a trade or business or for the production of income, treat the property as being placed in service on the conversion date. See Placed in Service under When Does Depreciation Begin and End? in chapter 1 for examples illustrating when property is placed in service.