Tax question on depreciation of appliances, flooring, etc.

[Tim J]

I'm a little confused about how the depreciation works on items that don't last 27.5 years, such as flooring, appliances, cabinets, etc. I know that you can apply accelerated depreciation (5 years) on certain items, but how do I know which items qualify to be depreciated at the higher rate?

And is depreciation on items such as appliances recaptured? I understand why the IRS recaptures depreciation on things such as the building itself (which is essentially never just tossed in the garbage), but if you use an air conditioner and toss it in 5 years, should I have to pay a recapture tax on the depreciated amount being that it's now at the landfill? Thanks in advance for any help.