Depreciation expense can be a big portion of a company’s total expense. And since expenses decrease income, it affects the overall value of a company. Understanding what it is and the methods can help ...

Amortization and depreciation are accounting methods used to allocate the cost of assets over their useful lives. Amortization applies to intangible assets like patents and trademarks. Depreciation ...

When you run a small business, depreciating your equipment can help offset the purchase costs through tax savings. When handling the depreciation for your property, you get to choose which method you ...

When your company purchases a fixed asset with an estimated lifetime exceeding one year, you cannot deduct the entire cost in the year of purchase. Rather, you must depreciate the asset by expensing a ...

Assets like equipment, vehicles and furniture lose value as they age. Parts wear out and pieces break, eventually requiring repair or replacement. Depreciation helps companies account for the ...

Accumulated depreciation is the sum of an asset’s depreciation expense. It’s calculated from the start of its use to a specific date. It’s also a contra-asset account. That means it decreases the ...

Learn how to calculate the written-down value (WDV) to determine the current worth of an asset after depreciation or amortization, also known as book value.

Depreciation determines the loss of value of an asset over its useful life. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take ...

Depreciation recapture taxes gains from selling depreciated property as ordinary income, reclaiming prior tax benefits. If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably bought at least some property to use ...

Depreciation is a business expense applicable to the purchase of capital assets, but it can get a little tricky for owners to work out without getting in trouble with Uncle Sam. If you buy furniture, ...

Will Kenton is an expert on the economy and investing laws and regulations. He previously held senior editorial roles at Investopedia and Kapitall Wire and holds a MA in Economics from The New School ...