Straight line depreciation definition

Whether you’re creating a balance sheet to see how your business stands or an income statement to see whether it’s turning a profit, you need to calculate depreciation. Straight-line depreciation is a simple How To Calculate Straight Line Depreciation method for calculating how much a particular fixed asset depreciates (loses value) over time. Depreciation is a way to account for the reduction of an asset’s value as a result of using the asset over time.

It is calculated by simply dividing the cost of an asset, less its salvage value, by the useful life of the asset. While the purchase price of an asset is known, one must make assumptions regarding the salvage value and useful life. These numbers can be arrived at in several ways, but getting them wrong could be costly. Also, a straight line basis assumes that an asset’s value declines at a steady and unchanging rate. This may not be true for all assets, in which case a different method should be used. As a business owner, knowing https://kelleysbookkeeping.com/how-scrap-car-prices-near-you-are-impacted-by/ of your company’s fixed assets is crucial to your business’s success.

Straight Line Depreciation Calculator

The units of production method is based on an asset’s usage, activity, or units of goods produced. Therefore, depreciation would be higher in periods of high usage and lower in periods of low usage. This method can be used to depreciate assets where variation in usage is an important factor, such as cars based on miles driven or photocopiers on copies made. With the straight line depreciation method, the value of an asset is reduced uniformly over each period until it reaches its salvage value. Straight line depreciation is the most commonly used and straightforward depreciation method for allocating the cost of a capital asset.

This method is used with assets that quickly lose value early in their useful life. A company may also choose to go with this method if it offers them tax or cash flow advantages. It’s used to reduce the carrying amount of a fixed asset over its useful life. With straight line depreciation, an asset’s cost is depreciated the same amount for each accounting period. You can then depreciate key assets on your tax income statement or business balance sheet. In subsequent years, the aggregated depreciation journal entry will be the same as recorded in Year 1.

Step 5: Multiply Your Depreciation Rate by the Asset’s Depreciable Cost

Over the useful life of an asset, the value of an asset should depreciate to its salvage value. Estimated Salvage Value is the scrap or residual proceeds expected from a company asset’s disposal after the end of the asset’s useful life. With straight-line depreciation, you must assign a “salvage value” to the asset you are depreciating. The salvage value is how much you expect an asset to be worth after its “useful life”. Below, we’ve provided you with some straight line depreciation examples.

• But keep in mind this opens up the risk of overestimating the asset’s value.
• In the explanation of how to calculate straight-line depreciation expense above, the formula  was (cost – salvage value) / useful life.
• Once calculated, depreciation expense is recorded in the accounting records as a debit to the depreciation expense account and a credit to the accumulated depreciation account.
• In accounting, there are many different conventions that are designed to match sales and expenses to the period in which they are incurred.
• In addition to straight line depreciation, there are also other methods of calculating depreciation of an asset.
• The IRS has categorized depreciable assets into several property classes.

One of the most obvious pitfalls of using this method is that the useful life calculation is based on guesswork. For example, there is always a risk that technological advancements could potentially render the asset obsolete earlier than expected. Moreover, the straight line basis does not factor in the accelerated loss of an asset’s value in the short-term, nor the likelihood that it will cost more to maintain as it gets older. The vehicle is estimated to have a useful life of 5 years and an estimated salvage of $15,000. Let’s break down how you can calculate straight-line depreciation step-by-step. We’ll use an office copier as an example asset for calculating the straight-line depreciation rate.