Double declining balance is sometimes also called the accelerated depreciation method. Businesses use accelerated methods when having assets that are more productive in their early years such as vehicles or other assets that lose their value quickly. Accelerated depreciation is any method of depreciation used for accounting or income tax purposes that allows greater depreciation expenses in the early years of the life of an asset. Accelerated depreciation methods, such as double declining balance (DDB), means there will be higher depreciation expenses in the first few years and lower expenses as the asset ages. This is unlike the straight-line depreciation method, which spreads the cost evenly over the life of an asset. 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.

It is also commonly used for tax purposes, as it allows for higher tax deductions in the early years of asset ownership. The Double Declining Balance Method calculates the depreciation expense of an asset over its useful life. It is based on the principle of accelerating depreciation, meaning that a more significant portion of the asset’s value is depreciated in the early years of its useful life, with depreciation decreasing over time. Continuing with the same numbers https://adprun.net/whats-the-difference-between-bookkeeping-and/ 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. Typically, accountants switch from double declining to straight line in the year when the straight line method would depreciate more than double declining. For instance, in the fourth year of our example, you’d depreciate $2,592 using the double declining method, or $3,240 using straight line.

Calculating the Double Declining Depreciation Method

In this example, the depreciation will continue until the credit balance in Accumulated Depreciation reaches $10,000 (the equipment’s depreciable cost). If the equipment Accounting For Startups: Everything You Need To Know In 2023 continues to be used, no further depreciation expense will be reported. The account balances remain in the general ledger until the equipment is sold, scrapped, etc.

Some companies use accelerated depreciation methods to defer their tax obligations into future years. It was first enacted and authorized under the Internal Revenue Code in 1954, and it was a major change from existing policy. Therefore, the DDB depreciation calculation for an asset with a 10-year useful life will have a DDB depreciation rate of 20%. In the first accounting year that the asset is used, the 20% will be multiplied times the asset’s cost since there is no accumulated depreciation. In the following accounting years, the 20% is multiplied times the asset’s book value at the beginning of the accounting year. This differs from other depreciation methods where an asset’s depreciable cost is used.

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The DDB depreciation method is best applied to assets that quickly lose value in the first few years of ownership. This is most frequently the case for things like cars and other vehicles but may also apply to business assets like computers, mobile devices and other electronics. For accounting purposes, companies can use any of these methods, provided they align with the underlying usage of the assets. For tax purposes, only prescribed methods by the regional tax authority is allowed. 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. Now you’re going to write it off your taxes using the double depreciation balance method.

• The «sum-of-the-years’-digits» refers to adding the digits in the years of an asset’s useful life.
• In the double declining method of depreciation, the amount of depreciation differs from year to year.
• Since we’re multiplying by a fixed rate, there will continuously be some residual value left over, irrespective of how much time passes.
• The Double Declining Balance method is an in-depth and comprehensive calculation formula used by accountants to estimate depreciation expenses over time.
• The Double Declining Balance Method (DDB) is a form of accelerated depreciation in which the annual depreciation expense is greater during the earlier stages of the fixed asset’s useful life.

Therefore, the «double» or «200%» will mean a depreciation rate of 20% per year. The double-declining-balance (DDB) method, which is also referred to as the 200%-declining-balance method, is one of the accelerated methods of depreciation. DDB is an accelerated method because more depreciation expense is reported in the early years of an asset’s useful life and less depreciation expense in the later years. To introduce the concept of the units-of-activity method, let’s assume that a service business purchases unique equipment at a cost of $20,000.