What Does ‘Placed in Service’ Mean?

A district court decision in 2015 said a retail store that received its certificate of occupancy was “placed in service” even though not yet open for business. Why does this matter? Various tax rules turn on this (e.g., equipment and other qualifying property must be placed in service for purposes of claiming bonus depreciation). The IRS announced recently that it would not follow this decision; it doesn’t view a C of O as amounting to “placed in service.”