The Double Declining Depreciation Method: A Beginner’s Guide

This is unlike the straight-line depreciation method, which spreads the cost evenly over the life of an asset. If a company often recognizes large gains on sales of its assets, this may signal that it’s using accelerated depreciation methods, such as the double-declining balance depreciation method. Net income will be lower for many years, but because book value ends up being lower than market value, this ultimately leads to a bigger gain when the asset is sold. If this asset is still valuable, its sale could portray a misleading picture of the company’s underlying health.

• This formula works for each year you are depreciating an asset, except for the last year of an asset’s useful life.
• In later years, as maintenance becomes more regular, you’ll be writing off less of the value of the asset—while writing off more in the form of maintenance.
• But before we delve further into the concept of accelerated depreciation, we’ll review some basic accounting terminology.

The double-declining balance depreciation (DDB) method, also known as the reducing balance method, is one of two common methods a business uses to account for the expense of a long-lived asset. Similarly, compared to the standard declining balance method, the double-declining method depreciates assets twice as quickly. Now that the rate is calculated, we can actually start depreciating the equipment. The declining method multiplies the book value of the asset by the double declining depreciation rate.

What is depreciation?

This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post. Bench assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein. Next year when you do your calculations, the book value of the ice cream truck will be $18,000.

The double-declining balance method is one of the depreciation methods used in entities nowadays. It is an accelerated depreciation method that depreciates the asset value at twice the rate in comparison to the depreciation rate used in the straight-line method. Depreciation is charged on the opening book value of the asset in the case of this method. The double declining balance method (DDB) describes an approach to accounting for the depreciation of fixed assets where the depreciation expense is greater in the initial years of the asset’s assumed useful life.

Double declining balance vs. straight-line

The rate of double depreciation remains constant throughout the depreciation process and is applied to the reducing book value every depreciation period. The two most common accelerated depreciation methods are double-declining balance and the sum of the years’ digits. Here’s a depreciation guide and overview of the double-declining balance method. Then, we need to calculate the depreciation rate, explained under the next heading. In the next step, we need to multiply the beginning book value by twice the depreciation rate and deduct the depreciation expense from the beginning value to arrive at the remaining value.

With our straight-line depreciation rate calculated, our next step is to simply multiply that straight-line depreciation rate by 2x to determine the double declining depreciation rate. Certain fixed assets are most useful during their initial years and then wane in productivity over time, so the asset’s utility is consumed at a more rapid rate during the earlier phases of its useful life. There are various alternative methods that can be used for calculating a company’s annual depreciation expense.

Example of Double Declining Balance Method

The next chart displays the differences between straight line and double declining balance depreciation, with the first two years of depreciation significantly higher. By dividing the $4 million depreciation expense by the purchase cost, the implied depreciation rate is 18.0% per year. Suppose a company purchased a fixed asset (PP&E) at a cost of $20 million. pfl claim For reporting purposes, accelerated depreciation results in the recognition of a greater depreciation expense in the initial years, which directly causes early-period profit margins to decline. Using the steps outlined above, let’s walk through an example of how to build a table that calculates the full depreciation schedule over the life of the asset.

• The steps to determine the annual depreciation expense under the double declining method are as follows.
• If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money.
• Suppose a company purchased a fixed asset (PP&E) at a cost of $20 million.
• When the depreciation rate for the declining balance method is a multiple of doubling the straight-line rate, it is effectively the double-declining balance method.

DDB is ideal for assets that very rapidly lose their values or quickly become obsolete. This may be true with certain computer equipment, mobile devices, and other high-tech items, which are generally useful earlier on but become less so as newer models are brought to market. For the second year of depreciation, you’ll be plugging a book value of $18,000 into the formula, rather than one of $30,000.

Your income may become harder to predict

The balance of the book value is eventually reduced to the asset’s salvage value after the last depreciation period. However, the final depreciation charge may have to be limited to a lesser amount to keep the salvage value as estimated. Depreciation rates used in the declining balance method could be 150%, 200% (double), or 250% of the straight-line rate. When the depreciation rate for the declining balance method is set as a multiple, doubling the straight-line rate, the declining balance method is effectively the double-declining balance method.

Don’t worry—these formulas are a lot easier to understand with a step-by-step example. You should use MACRS to report depreciation deductions in your tax returns. The word ‘incorporated’ indicates that a business entity is a corporation. Insights on business strategy and culture, right to your inbox.Part of the business.com network. Accountingo.org aims to provide the best accounting and finance education for students, professionals, teachers, and business owners. Depreciation expense for the year 2021 will therefore equal $1440 ($3600 x 0.4).

An accelerated method of depreciation ultimately factors in the phase-out of these assets. Based on the above steps, companies can also make the process straightforward. They can use the following double-declining balance method formula to calculate the depreciation charge. Companies can create a depreciation charge under this method by following several steps. Usually, they can use the straight-line depreciation percentage and double it to calculate the depreciation under this method.

The importance of the double-declining method of depreciation can be explained through the following scenarios. Sometimes, when the company is looking to defer the tax liabilities and reduce profitability in the initial years of the asset’s useful life, it is the best option for charging depreciation. The double-declining depreciation method accelerates the depreciation process by doubling the expense early in the life of the asset, with the expense declining as it ages.

We will repeat a similar process each year throughout the asset’s useful life or until we reach the asset’s salvage value. Assume a retailer purchases fixtures on January 1 at a cost of $100,000. At the end of their 10-year useful life, it is expected that the fixtures will be worthless.

Continuing with the same numbers as the example above, in year 1 the company would have depreciation of $480,000 under the accelerated approach, but only $240,000 under the normal declining balance approach. By accelerating the depreciation and incurring a larger expense in earlier years and a smaller expense in later years, net income is deferred to later years, and taxes are pushed out. The difference is that DDB will use a depreciation rate that is twice that (double) the rate used in standard declining depreciation. Doing some market research, you find you can sell your five year old ice cream truck for about $12,000—that’s the salvage value. However, it’s not as easy to calculate, and you must refigure your depreciation expense each period. DDB depreciation is less advantageous when a business owner wants to spread out the tax benefits of depreciation over the useful life of a product.

For the salvage value to remain the same, the final depreciation charge may need to be limited to a lesser amount. Hence, our calculation of the depreciation expense in Year 5 – the final year of our fixed asset’s useful life – differs from the prior periods. The depreciation expense recorded under the double declining method is calculated by multiplying the accelerated rate, 36.0% by the beginning PP&E balance in each period. The declining balance method, also known as the reducing balance method, is ideal for assets that quickly lose their values or inevitably become obsolete. This is classically true with computer equipment, cell phones, and other high-tech items, which are generally useful earlier on but become less so as newer models are brought to market.

Example of Double Declining Balance Depreciation in Excel

Using the double-declining balance method, the $100,000 of book value is multiplied by 20%, resulting in $20,000 of depreciation in the first year. In this journal entry, $20,000 will be debited from Depreciation Expense and $20,000 will be credited to Accumulated Depreciation. This method takes most of the depreciation charges upfront, in the early years, lowering profits on the income statement sooner rather than later.

Vehicles fall under the five-year property class according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The straight-line depreciation percentage is, therefore, 20%—one-fifth of the difference between the purchase price and the salvage value of the vehicle each year. If the double-declining depreciation rate is 40%, the straight-line rate of depreciation shall be its half, i.e., 20%. The carrying value of an asset decreases more quickly in its earlier years under the straight line depreciation compared to the double-declining method.