MACRS Table Conventions

The conventions used for MACRS tables are the same as the conventions used in the MACRS formula method. The difference is that the table values take into consideration the acquisition year convention required to be used for a particular asset.

For MACRS personal property using the MACRS table method, the tables used within the program generally follow the half-year convention. They allow for a half year of depreciation in the year of acquisition and a half year's recovery in the last year of the asset's estimated life. If you dispose of the asset before the end of its estimated life, the system automatically superimposes the half-year convention on the ordinary full-year recovery amount in the tables.

Where the midquarter convention applies, where you choose it for all MACRS personal property, or where the property uses depreciation method RH, the system uses the appropriate midquarter tables. (See the MACRS formula method description for a more complete explanation of the effect of the midquarter convention election on the allowed recovery amounts in the acquisition and disposal years.)

For MACRS real property, a midmonth convention is built into the real property tables and allows for a half month's depreciation in both the acquisition and disposal months. The midquarter convention does not apply to real property.