Free calculator
Straight-line depreciation calculator
Enter the cost, salvage value and useful life. You get the annual and monthly charge, a schedule that handles a partial first year, the formula behind each line and the entry to post. The same calculator also does declining balance and MACRS.
Asset
Purchase price plus costs to get it ready for use.
What you expect to sell it for at the end of its life.
Timing
Depreciation schedule
| Year | Fiscal year | Depreciation | Closing book value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FY2026 | 43,250.00 | |
| 2 | FY2027 | 34,250.00 | |
| 3 | FY2028 | 25,250.00 | |
| 4 | FY2029 | 16,250.00 | |
| 5 | FY2030 | 7,250.00 | |
| 6 | FY2031 | 5,000.00 | |
| Total | 45,000.00 | ||
The same asset under four methods
| Fiscal year | Straight-line | Double declining balance | 150% declining balance | Sum-of-the-years'-digits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 6,750.00 | 15,000.00 | 11,250.00 | 11,250.00 |
| FY2027 | 9,000.00 | 14,000.00 | 11,625.00 | 12,750.00 |
| FY2028 | 9,000.00 | 8,400.00 | 8,137.50 | 9,750.00 |
| FY2029 | 9,000.00 | 5,040.00 | 6,216.67 | 6,750.00 |
| FY2030 | 9,000.00 | 2,560.00 | 6,216.66 | 3,750.00 |
| FY2031 | 2,250.00 | – | 1,554.17 | 750.00 |
The straight-line formula
Straight-line spreads the depreciable amount, cost less what you expect to recover, evenly over the years you expect to use the asset. A $10,000 asset with a $1,000 salvage value and a five-year life depreciates $1,800 a year. After five years its book value is $1,000, the salvage value, and depreciation stops.
When the asset arrives partway through the year
Bought in April with a December year end, the same asset is in service for 9 months of year one. The first charge is $1,800 × 9/12 = $1,350, the next four years take $1,800 each, and the last $450 falls in year six. Total depreciation is still $9,000; only the timing changes. Pick the first-year convention that matches your accounting policy.
Recording it
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation expense | 150.00 | |
| Accumulated depreciation | 150.00 |
In Excel, =SLN(cost, salvage, life) returns the charge for one full period. Microsoft describes it as the straight-line depreciation of an asset for one period. Give it the life in months to get a monthly figure. SLN doesn’t prorate a partial first year, so use the calculator’s schedule, which copies into Excel, when the asset arrives mid-year.
Straight-line for books and for taxes
For your financial statements, you choose the life and salvage value as an accounting estimate. For a federal tax return, most business property uses MACRS, which sets the recovery period by class of property and uses no salvage value. MACRS itself is straight-line for rental and commercial buildings, and you can elect straight-line for other classes. The MACRS depreciation calculator builds the tax schedule, and the section 179 calculator works out how much you can expense in the first year instead.
Straight-line depreciation: questions
- What is the straight-line depreciation formula?
- Annual depreciation = (Cost − Salvage value) ÷ Useful life in years. A $10,000 asset expected to be worth $1,000 at the end of a five-year life depreciates $1,800 a year, or $150 a month.
- What is the straight-line depreciation rate?
- 1 ÷ useful life, applied to the cost less salvage value. A five-year asset depreciates at 20% a year, a ten-year asset at 10%. The rate doesn't change from year to year, which is what makes the method straight-line.
- How do I handle an asset bought partway through the year?
- Charge only the part of the year the asset was in service, then finish in the year after the life ends. Under the full-month convention, an asset placed in service in April of a calendar year gets 9 months in year one ($1,350 in the example on this page) and the last 3 months in year six ($450). The calculator also offers mid-month, half-year and full-year conventions.
- Does straight-line depreciation use salvage value?
- For financial statements, yes: you depreciate cost less the amount you expect to recover. Federal tax depreciation under MACRS doesn't use salvage value at all, even when the method is straight-line.
- Can I use straight-line for taxes?
- Yes, in several cases. Publication 946 assigns straight-line to residential rental property (27.5 years) and nonresidential real property (39 years), requires it under the alternative depreciation system, and lets you elect it for other classes of MACRS property. The recovery period and convention still follow the IRS rules, and there's no salvage value.
- What's the journal entry for straight-line depreciation?
- Debit depreciation expense and credit accumulated depreciation for the period's charge. The asset account stays at cost; accumulated depreciation, a contra-asset, grows until book value reaches the salvage value.
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Sources
Official documents read on November 5, 2026. Vendor facts are sourced on each listing.