What Is Straight-Line Depreciation? Guide & Formula

GAAP guidelines highlight several separate, allowable methods of depreciation that accounting professionals may use. In addition to straight line depreciation, there are also other methods of calculating depreciation of an asset. Different methods of asset depreciation are used to more accurately reflect the depreciation and Methods of Depreciation: Formulas, Problems, and Solutions current value of an asset. A company may elect to use one depreciation method over another in order to gain tax or cash flow advantages. The units-of-production depreciation method depreciates assets based on the total number of hours used or the total number of units to be produced by using the asset, over its useful life.

This allocation spreads out fixed costs across the number of units produced or used over the course of an asset’s life. The units of production method meets the criterion of being rational and systematic, and it provides a good matching of expenses and revenues for those assets for which use is an important factor in depreciation. Accumulated depreciation is carried on the balance sheet until the related asset is disposed of and reflects the total reduction in the value of the asset over time.

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If asset depreciation is arbitrarily determined, the recorded “gains or losses on the disposition of depreciable property assets seen in financial statements”8 are not true best estimates. Due to operational changes, the depreciation expense needs to be periodically reevaluated and adjusted. The reducing balance method is also known as the reducing installment method.

Each period the depreciation per unit rate is multiplied by the actual units produced to calculate the depreciation expense. There are four allowable methods for calculating depreciation, and which one a company chooses to use depends on that company’s specific circumstances. Small businesses looking for the easiest approach might choose straight-line depreciation, which simply calculates the projected average yearly depreciation of an asset over its lifespan.

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Some types of assets that depreciate are office equipment, computers, machinery, buildings, etc. Over the useful life of the fixed asset, the cost is moved from the balance sheet to the income statement. Alternatively, it is just an allocation process as per the matching principle instead of a technique that determines the fair market value of the fixed asset.

For assets purchased in the middle of the year, the annual depreciation expense is divided by the number of months in that year since the purchase. Straight-line depreciation is a very common, and the simplest, method of calculating depreciation expense. In straight-line depreciation, the expense amount is the same every year over the useful life of the asset. It is one of the most relevant method to keep control on the calculation of depreciation. Here we mention the different rules for periods in case of different scenarios for assets.

Reducing Balance Method

Depreciation is the allocation of an asset’s cost over its useful life. Companies use several factors and methods when calculating the amount. Essentially, it involves adjusting depreciation factors due to various reasons. By doing so, the company can provide more reliable financial reporting that reflects the asset’s true economic benefits over time. The actual amount depreciated on the income statement equals the revised depreciation.

• This formula is best for companies with assets that lose greater value in the early years and that want larger depreciation deductions sooner.
• Compared to other depreciation methods, double-declining-balance depreciation results in a larger amount expensed in the earlier years as opposed to the later years of an asset’s useful life.
• Regardless of the depreciation method used, the total depreciation expense (and accumulated depreciation) recognized over the life of any asset will be equal.
• For example, if the life is 6 years, we add 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5+6, which is 21.

According to this method, the item’s value goes down by the same amount each year until it reaches zero. There are four primary formulas involved, and we will explore them one by one with examples for better understanding. The more you drive it, the more it gets older, and it might not look as new and shiny anymore. After a few years, if you decide to sell it, people may not be willing to pay the same price you did because it’s no longer a brand-new car. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License .