Remaining Value Over Remaining Life Example

A company acquired a $10,000 asset on March 31, 2020, and sold it on July 31, 2024. For the internal books, the taxpayer determines depreciation using the remaining value over remaining life method over a 5-year life. The amount of depreciation allowed is:

Year

Depreciation Allowance

Calculation

2020

$1,666.67

  $10,000   x 10 months *
60 months

2021

2,000.00

$10,000 - 1,666.67 x 12 months
      50 months

2022

2,000.00

$10,000 - 3,666.67 x 12 months
      38 months

2023

2,000.00

$10,000 - 5,666.67 x 12 months
      26 months

2024

1,000.00

$10,000 - 7,666.67 x 6 months **
      14 months

 

* A full month's depreciation is allowed for the month of March 2020.

** No depreciation is allowed for the month of July 2024.

Assume that, for the same asset, the company determined at the beginning of 2022 that the asset had a remaining life of 4 years as of the end of 2021. To make this change in the application, change the Estimated Life field to 5 years, 10 months (i.e. 4 years plus the 22 months for which the asset has already been depreciated.) When you receive the prompts due to changes being made to a critical field, answer Yes both times. In this case, you want to save the existing depreciation (calculated through 12/31/21) before you make the change.

Note the changes in the calculations below:

Year

Depreciation Allowance

Calculation

2020

$1,666.67

  $10,000   x 10 months
60 months

2021

2,000.00 

$10,000 - 1,666.67 x 12 months
      50 months

2022

1,583.33 

[$10,000 - (1,666.67 + 2,000.00)] x 12 months
              48 months

2023

1,583.33 

[$10,000 - (1,666.67 + 2,000.00 + 1,583.33)] x 12 months
                      36 months

2024

791.67 

($10,000 - [1,666.67 + 2,000.00 + (2 x 1,583.33)]) x 6 months
                          24 months