Straight Line Depreciation Calculator

Depreciation Schedule

Example - Cost: $11,000.00, Salvage: $1,000.00, Life: 5 years , First Year: 12 months

Period	Book Value Period Start	Depreciation Expense	Accumulated Depreciation	Book Value Period End
1	$11,000	$2,000	$2,000	$9,000
2	$9,000	$2,000	$4,000	$7,000
3	$7,000	$2,000	$6,000	$5,000
4	$5,000	$2,000	$8,000	$3,000
5	$3,000	$2,000	$10,000	$1,000

Straight-Line Depreciation Formula

The straight line calculation, as the name suggests, is a straight line drop in asset value.  The depreciation of an asset is spread evenly across the life.

• Depreciation in Any Period = ((Cost - Salvage) / Life)
• Partial year depreciation, when the first year has M months is taken as:
  • First year depreciation = (M / 12) * ((Cost - Salvage) / Life)
  • Last year depreciation = ((12 - M) / 12) * ((Cost - Salvage) / Life)
  • And, a life, for example, of 7 years will be depreciated across 8 years.

Straight-Line Depreciation Example

Suppose an asset for a business cost $11,000, will have a life of 5 years and a salvage value of $1,000.

• Depreciation in Any Period = (($11,000 - $1,000) / 5 years) = $10,000 / 5 years = $2,000/ year.

Microsoft® Excel® Functions Equivalent: SLN

The Excel equivalent function for Straight-Line Method is SLN(cost,salvage,life) will calculate the depreciation expense for any period.  For a more accelerated depreciation method see, for example, our Double Declining Balance Method Depreciation Calculator.

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