What Is Accumulated Depreciation
As an example of accumulated depreciation, let’s say that a company purchased a piece of machinery that it must have for its production process. That machinery costs $100,000 and is expected to be in service for ten years. First, you calculate the depreciation of that asset for the first year it is in service. If you’re using the straight-line depreciation method—meaning taking the same amount of depreciation in each year of the asset’s useful life—and there is no salvage value, then the depreciation calculation is: Depreciation = Cost of the Asset ➗ Number of Years in Service In this case, depreciation would be $100,000 ➗ 10 = $10,000 per year For accumulated depreciation, the formula is: Accumulated Depreciation = (Cost of the Asset - Salvage Value) ➗ Life of the Asset * Number of Years We already know the depreciation for each year is $10,000, and there is no salvage value....