Depreciation Schedule Generator

How to use it

Enter what the asset cost, what it will be worth at the end, and how long you will use it. Pick a method and the schedule shows the write-down year by year, the book value at each point, and what the relief is worth in tax.

Where the number comes from

• The depreciable amount is cost minus salvage value. Salvage is never written off, under any method.
• Straight line divides that amount evenly across the useful life.
• Sum of the years’ digits weights it by remaining life: with a seven-year asset the digits total 28, so year one takes 7/28 and year seven takes 1/28.
• Declining balance applies a fixed rate — the factor divided by the life — to the opening book value each year, so the charge shrinks as the value does.
• Declining balance switches to straight line on what is left once that gives the larger charge, which is the standard treatment. Without the switch a fixed rate on a shrinking balance never reaches salvage and part of the cost is never written off.
• The tax saved each year is simply that year’s depreciation multiplied by your tax rate.

What goes wrong

The part most calculators leave out.

• Book depreciation and tax depreciation are usually different things. Many jurisdictions require their own capital allowance regime for tax — MACRS in the US, writing-down allowances in the UK — and will not accept your book method. Treat the tax column as indicative.
• First-year conventions are ignored here. Half-year, mid-quarter and mid-month conventions all change year one materially, and most tax regimes mandate one of them.
• Many jurisdictions now allow immediate expensing of qualifying assets up to a threshold. Where that applies, none of these schedules is the right answer and the whole cost is deductible at once.
• Salvage value is an estimate made years ahead of the event. Getting it wrong changes every year of the schedule, not just the last one.
• This models one asset in isolation. It does not handle disposals, impairments, part-year acquisitions or additions to an existing pool.
• This is a working schedule, not tax advice. The deductible amount in your jurisdiction is a question for your accountant.

Questions

Which depreciation method should I use?

For financial reporting, the method should match how the asset actually gives up its value: straight line for something that wears evenly, an accelerated method for equipment that does most of its work early. For tax, the choice is usually made for you by local rules.

Why do the later declining-balance years level off?

Because the schedule switches to straight line once spreading what is left evenly over the remaining years charges more than the declining rate. A fixed rate on a shrinking balance never reaches salvage by itself, so without the switch part of the cost would never be deducted. The charge is also capped so book value never falls below salvage.

Is depreciation a cash cost?

No. The cash left when you bought the asset. Depreciation only allocates that spend across the years you use it — but the tax it saves is real cash, which is why the shield column matters.

Does anything I type get sent anywhere?

No. The whole calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or logged, and there is no account to create. Your browser keeps the figures with this tab’s history so that Back and Reload bring them back, and Reset clears them.