Straight Line Depreciation Calculator with Schedule
Work out straight line depreciation from cost, salvage value and useful life. See the yearly expense, accumulated depreciation and book value, with an optional partial first year.
Leave blank for 0.
Leave blank for a full first year.
Enter the asset cost and its useful life to see the depreciation schedule.
About the straight line depreciation calculator
Straight line is the simplest and most common way to depreciate an asset. It charges the same expense every year, so the book value falls in an even line from the purchase cost down to the salvage value. This Straight Line Depreciation Calculator gives you the annual expense, the accumulated depreciation and the closing book value for each year, and it handles an asset that enters service part-way through the first year.
Small businesses, landlords and students tend to reach for straight line first because it is easy to explain and easy to audit: one number, repeated. It is also the method many accounting policies default to for buildings, furniture and office equipment, where the benefit of the asset is spread fairly evenly over time.
How to calculate straight line depreciation
Steps
- Type the Asset cost. Include the price plus any costs needed to get it ready for use, such as delivery and installation.
- Type the Salvage value, the amount you expect to recover at the end of the asset's life. Use blank or 0 if you expect nothing.
- Type the Useful life in years.
- If the asset started working mid-year, enter the months in service for the first year.
- Read the annual depreciation in the first row of the table and use Copy as CSV to take the schedule into a spreadsheet.
Formulas
The rate is only a way of describing the same thing: a 5-year life is a 20 percent straight-line rate, an 8-year life is 12.5 percent. Because the base is cost minus salvage, not cost alone, the rate is applied to the depreciable amount.
Worked example: a delivery van
A van costs 28,000, will be worth 4,000 after 6 years, so the depreciable amount is 24,000. Annual depreciation is 24,000 / 6 = 4,000. Book value runs 24,000 after year 1, then 20,000, 16,000, 12,000, 8,000 and finally 4,000. Accumulated depreciation after year 3 is 12,000, which is half the cost less salvage, as you would expect at the midpoint.
Worked example: a machine bought part-way through the year
A machine costs 45,000, has 5,000 salvage and an 8-year life, so it depreciates 40,000 in total, or 5,000 a year. It goes into service 9 months before the end of the first year. Year 1 takes 9/12 of 5,000, which is 3,750. Years 2 to 8 each take 5,000. A ninth row takes the remaining 3/12, which is 1,250. The schedule ends at a book value of 5,000 after nine rows, and the depreciation adds up to 40,000.
A second case shows a low-value asset with no salvage: a 12,000 server with a 4-year life placed in service for 3 months of year 1 depreciates 750, then 3,000 for three years, then 2,250 in the fifth row.
What straight line does and does not tell you
Straight line assumes the asset gives the same benefit each year. It ignores the fact that many assets lose more value early, and it ignores usage. If that is a poor fit, try declining balance or sum-of-years digits for a front-loaded pattern, or units of production when usage varies from year to year. The Depreciation Calculator has all of them on one page.
Book depreciation is not the same as tax depreciation. Tax authorities often prescribe their own methods, lives and conventions, so treat this schedule as a bookkeeping and planning aid.
Privacy
Nothing is uploaded; every calculation runs in your browser and never leaves your device.
Related tools
To weigh up financing the purchase, try the Loan Calculator. The Percentage Calculator converts the straight-line rate into a figure for any base, and the Depreciation Calculator compares this method with the accelerated ones.
Frequently asked questions
What is the straight line depreciation formula?
Annual depreciation equals cost minus salvage value, divided by useful life in years. An asset that costs 10,000, has 1,000 salvage and lasts 5 years depreciates 1,800 every year.
How do I convert the useful life into a straight line rate?
Divide 1 by the useful life. A 5-year life is 20 percent per year and a 10-year life is 10 percent. The rate applies to cost minus salvage, not to cost alone, so it gives the same annual amount as the formula above.
What happens if the asset is bought part-way through the year?
Enter the months in service in the first year. Year 1 takes that fraction of a full year's depreciation, the middle years take the full amount, and an extra final row takes the remaining months. For example, 6 months on a 1,800 annual charge gives 900, then full years, then a final 900.
Is straight line depreciation better than accelerated methods?
Neither is better in general. Straight line suits assets that give a steady benefit and keeps expense predictable. Accelerated methods, such as declining balance, suit assets that lose value faster in early years. The total depreciation over the life is the same, only the timing differs.
What is book value in the schedule?
Book value is the cost minus the accumulated depreciation so far. It starts at cost, falls by the annual amount each year, and ends at the salvage value after the last year.
Does the calculator round the numbers?
Calculations keep full precision and only the display is rounded to cents. The last row shows exactly the salvage value, and the yearly depreciation adds up to cost minus salvage.