Depreciation calculator
Enter the cost of an asset, its salvage value and its useful life, then pick a method. You get the depreciation for every year, the accumulated total and the remaining book value.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the cost of the asset, its salvage value (the expected value at the end of its life) and its useful life in years.
- Choose a method.
- Read the first-year depreciation and the full schedule.
Methods
- Straight-line: (cost − salvage) ÷ life every year.
- Declining balance: opening book value × 1.5 ÷ life.
- Double-declining balance: opening book value × 2 ÷ life.
- Sum-of-the-years-digits: (cost − salvage) × years left ÷ (life × (life + 1) ÷ 2).
For the two declining methods the last year takes whatever is left above salvage, so the schedule always ends exactly on the salvage value.
Worked example
Cost 10,000, salvage 1,000, life 5 years, sum-of-the-years-digits: depreciation is 3,000, 2,400, 1,800, 1,200 and 600 (9,000 × 5/15, 4/15 …), and the book value ends at 1,000.
Limits
Whole years only; no mid-year convention, no partial first year and no tax tables.
Frequently asked questions
What is the straight-line method?
The same amount every year: (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life. A 10,000 asset with a 1,000 salvage value and 5-year life loses 1,800 a year.
How does double-declining balance work?
Each year depreciation is the opening book value × 2 ÷ life, so it is largest in the first year. For life 5 the rate is 40%: 4,000, 2,400, 1,440, 864 on a 10,000 asset. Depreciation never takes the book value below salvage, and the final year writes off whatever remains above salvage.
What is the sum-of-the-years-digits method?
It also front-loads depreciation. Each year takes (cost − salvage) × (years left) ÷ (1 + 2 + … + life). For life 5 the fractions are 5/15, 4/15, 3/15, 2/15 and 1/15.
Is this valid for tax depreciation?
No. It uses whole years and the textbook formulas. Tax systems (MACRS and others) use their own tables, conventions and limits, so use their rules for tax returns.