Depreciation Schedule Calculator (Straight-Line & Double-Declining Balance)
Calculate an asset's year-by-year depreciation and book value using the straight-line or double-declining-balance method.
- Annual depreciation
- $1,800.00
- Total depreciation over useful life
- $9,000.00
- Ending book value
- $1,000.00
Book value vs. accumulated depreciation
Original cost at year 5: $10,000.00
How it works
Straight-line depreciation charges the same amount every year: (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life. Double-declining balance instead charges a constant rate — 2 ÷ useful life, twice the straight-line rate — of whatever book value remains each year, so it front-loads more depreciation into the early years and less into later ones, the standard 'accelerated depreciation' approach. Neither method depreciates the asset below its salvage value; double-declining balance's final year is capped at exactly enough to reach salvage value, since applying the uncapped rate alone never quite gets there.
Both methods depreciate the exact same total amount over the asset's full useful life (cost − salvage value) — they only differ in how that total is spread across the years. The chart below shows that shifting split: each year's bar is the same total height (the original cost), divided between book value still remaining and depreciation accumulated so far.
FAQ
Which method should I use?
Straight-line is simpler and assumes the asset loses value evenly over time — common for things like buildings. Double-declining balance assumes an asset loses most of its value early — common for equipment and vehicles that depreciate quickly once new. This calculator doesn't recommend one; it computes the schedule for whichever you choose.
Why can't salvage value be equal to or greater than cost?
Salvage value represents what the asset is still worth at the end of its useful life, so it must be less than what it cost — otherwise there's nothing left to depreciate (or the numbers imply the asset gained value, which neither method models).
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