Depreciation Calculator

Straight-line, sum-of-years-digits, and declining-balance depreciation schedules with CSV export.

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Educational estimate only — not investment, lending, or financial advice. Confirm figures with statements or a qualified professional before you act.

About this tool

Enter an asset's cost, salvage value and useful life, and choose a method. You get a year-by-year schedule showing depreciation, accumulated depreciation and book value, which you can download as CSV.

How to use

1
Step 1
Enter cost, salvage value and life in years.
2
Step 2
Choose straight line, sum-of-years' digits, declining balance, or declining balance with a switch to straight line.
3
Step 3
For declining balance, set the factor (200 for double-declining).
4
Step 4
Press Calculate and download the schedule if needed.

How it works

Straight line spreads cost minus salvage evenly. Sum-of-years' digits and declining balance front-load the expense. Declining balance multiplies the opening book value by factor ÷ life, but never takes book value below salvage. The crossover version switches to straight line over the remaining life once that gives a bigger charge.

SL = (cost − salvage) ÷ life      SYD year k = (cost − salvage) × (life − k + 1) ÷ [life × (life + 1) ÷ 2]      DB = opening book × factor ÷ life

Worked example

Cost 11,000, salvage 1,000, 5 years

Input
Cost 11,000; salvage 1,000; life 5; method straight line
Output
2,000 a year; book value falls from 11,000 to 1,000
Walkthrough
(11,000 − 1,000) ÷ 5 = 2,000. Sum-of-years' digits gives 3,333.33 in year 1 (10,000 × 5 ÷ 15). Double-declining gives 11,000 × 40% = 4,400 in year 1, and a final-year charge limited to 425.60 so the book value stops at 1,000. Over 10 years, crossover takes 422.75 in year 9 where plain declining balance takes 369.10.

Limitations

  • Whole years only, with no mid-year or monthly convention.
  • Tax depreciation rules (such as MACRS) differ and are not modelled.
  • Salvage must be below cost.

Questions

How do I calculate straight-line depreciation?
Subtract salvage value from cost and divide by life. (11,000 − 1,000) ÷ 5 = 2,000 a year.
What is double-declining balance?
A declining balance method with a factor of 200%, so each year's charge is twice the straight-line rate applied to the opening book value.
Why does declining balance stop short in the last year?
An asset is not depreciated below its salvage value, so the final charge is capped.
What does the crossover method do?
It switches to straight line on the remaining life once that gives a larger charge than declining balance.

Features

  • Four methods
  • Year-by-year schedule
  • CSV download
  • Runs in your browser

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