Free tool
Depreciation Calculator
A full year-by-year schedule under either method — straight line or reducing balance — with residual value and the 180-day rule handled. See both side by side and how differently they hit your profit.
Including installation, excluding recoverable GST
Leave as computed, or override with a statutory block rate
Summary
- Depreciable amount
- ₹0
- Effective rate
- 0%
- Year 1 charge
- ₹0
- Closing value, final year
- ₹0
Year-by-year schedule
| Year | Opening | Depreciation | Accumulated | Closing |
|---|
A working tool, not a filing. Companies Act useful lives and Income Tax block rates differ by asset class and change from time to time. Enter the life or rate that applies to your asset, and have the final schedule reviewed before it goes into your accounts or return.
SLM or WDV — what actually changes
Over the full life, both methods write off the same total. What differs is when. Straight line spreads it evenly. Written down value charges a fixed percentage of the reducing balance, so year one might be two or three times year eight.
That timing matters more than it sounds. A capital-heavy business on WDV shows materially lower profit in the first years after an expansion — which affects bank covenants, valuation conversations and how the year reads to anyone who doesn’t know a large asset was commissioned.
Two sets of books, legitimately
Depreciation is one of the places where your financial statements and your tax computation deliberately disagree:
- Companies Act — useful lives under Schedule II, asset by asset, for the accounts.
- Income Tax Act — prescribed WDV rates on a block of assets, pooled by class, for the return.
Because the two differ, the tax you actually pay differs from the tax implied by your book profit. That gap is deferred tax, and it is one of the most common things we find missing or wrong in SME accounts that were never properly closed.
The fixed asset register nobody keeps
Depreciation errors almost always trace back to a missing or stale asset register. Assets get scrapped but never removed. Capital work-in-progress is never capitalised, so depreciation never starts. Repairs get capitalised, or genuine improvements get expensed.
A maintained register is part of a proper month-end close — and reconciling fixed assets to it every month is one of the balance sheet controls in our finance operations service.
Depreciation — common questions
What is the difference between SLM and WDV depreciation?
Straight line (SLM) writes off the same amount every year across the asset’s useful life. Written down value (WDV) applies a fixed percentage to the reducing balance, so the charge is heavy early and tapers. SLM gives a flat profit impact; WDV front-loads the cost, which usually matches how an asset actually loses value.
How is depreciation calculated under the Companies Act?
Schedule II of the Companies Act 2013 prescribes useful lives rather than rates. You depreciate cost less residual value — commonly taken at 5% of cost — over that useful life, using either SLM or WDV. This calculator lets you enter the useful life directly so it works whatever life applies to your asset class.
Is book depreciation the same as income tax depreciation?
No, and this trips people up constantly. Companies Act depreciation is computed on useful lives for your financial statements. Income tax depreciation uses block-of-assets WDV rates under the Income Tax Act, applied to a pooled block rather than individual assets. The two almost never agree, and the difference is a deferred tax item.
What is the half-year or 180-day rule?
Under income tax, an asset put to use for less than 180 days in the year of acquisition gets only half the normal depreciation for that year. It applies to the year of purchase only. This calculator has a toggle for it.
What is residual or salvage value?
The amount you expect to recover at the end of the asset’s useful life. Under the Companies Act it is commonly taken as 5% of original cost. Depreciation is charged on cost minus residual value, so the asset never writes down below that floor.
Serving businesses across India
When did anyone last reconcile your fixed assets?
Scrapped assets still depreciating and CWIP that never got capitalised are two of the most common errors we find in books that were never closed properly.
Delivered within 24 working hours, or next month is on us. 24 working hours from the moment we have your complete data. The clock runs Monday to Saturday and pauses on Sundays and public holidays. Terms