Section 179 is only allowed if the rental activity rises to the level of a "Trade or Business".  If it does rise to that level, yes, Section 179 is allowed for thing like furniture and carpet.  Improvements to the property itself (things that would be depreciated over 27.5 years) does not qualify.

I'm not sure how the 1120 program works, but in the 1040 program, for purposes of the top section of Form 4562, ProSeries assumes that rentals DON'T rise to the level of a "Trade or Business".  So if it does rise to that level, you need to override the income on Line 11 to reflect the rental income/loss.  But again, that is how the 1040 program works; I'm not sure if the 1120 program is the same.