Depreciation Calculator

About Depreciation

Depreciation means a reduction in the value of an asset with the passage of time. It is computed based on the initial purchase price or initial cost, number of years where depreciation is calculated, salvage value at the end of the depreciation period, and the asset's life span.

Depreciation is an important element in the management of a company's assets. With proper and accurate calculation of depreciation, a company can benefit from the tax advantage.

Double Declining Balance Method

The Double Declining Balance (DDB) method is an accelerated depreciation method that applies twice the straight-line depreciation rate to the asset's book value at the beginning of each period. This results in higher depreciation expenses in the early years of an asset's life.

Formula: Depreciation Expense = (2 / Useful Life) × Book Value at Beginning of Year

Initial Cost ($)

Salvage Value ($)

Asset Life (Years)

Depreciation Period (Year)

Depreciation Amount

$0.00

Year 1

Book Value: $0.00

Depreciation Schedule

Year	Beginning Value	Depreciation Rate	Depreciation Expense	Ending Value

Code Implementation

VB6 Code

VB.NET Code

JavaScript

This is the Visual Basic 6 implementation of the depreciation calculator using the DDB function:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim Int_Cost, Sal_Value, Asset_Life, Deperiod, Depre_Amt As Double
    Int_Cost = Val(Txt_Cost.Text)
    Sal_Value = Val(Txt_Salvage.Text)
    Asset_Life = Val(Txt_Life.Text)
    Deperiod = Val(Txt_Period.Text)
    Depre_Amt = DDB(Int_Cost, Sal_Value, Asset_Life, Deperiod)
    
    Lbl_Dpre.Caption = Format(Depre_Amt, "$###,###,000.00")
End Sub

The DDB function in Visual Basic 6 calculates depreciation for a specific period using the double-declining balance method.

This is the VB.NET implementation of the depreciation calculator:

Public Function CalculateDDB(cost As Double, salvage As Double, life As Integer, period As Integer) As Double
    If period < 1 Or period > life Then
        Return 0
    End If
    
    Dim depreciation As Double = 0
    Dim currentValue As Double = cost
    
    ' Calculate depreciation for each year until the requested period
    For year As Integer = 1 To period
        Dim rate As Double = 2 / life
        Dim yearDepreciation As Double = currentValue * rate
        
        ' In the last period, we might need to adjust to not go below salvage
        If currentValue - yearDepreciation < salvage Then
            yearDepreciation = currentValue - salvage
        End If
        
        ' For the requested period, return the calculated depreciation
        If year = period Then
            depreciation = yearDepreciation
        End If
        
        currentValue -= yearDepreciation
    Next
    
    Return depreciation
End Function

Private Sub btnCalculate_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnCalculate.Click
    Dim initialCost As Double = CDbl(txtInitialCost.Text)
    Dim salvageValue As Double = CDbl(txtSalvageValue.Text)
    Dim assetLife As Integer = CInt(txtAssetLife.Text)
    Dim period As Integer = CInt(txtPeriod.Text)
    
    Dim depreciation = CalculateDDB(initialCost, salvageValue, assetLife, period)
    
    lblResult.Text = depreciation.ToString("C")
End Sub

This VB.NET code calculates depreciation using the double-declining balance method and includes validation to ensure the book value doesn't drop below the salvage value.

This JavaScript implementation powers the interactive calculator on this page:

function calculateDepreciation() {
    // Get input values
    const cost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('initialCost').value) || 0;
    const salvage = parseFloat(document.getElementById('salvageValue').value) || 0;
    const life = parseInt(document.getElementById('assetLife').value) || 1;
    const period = parseInt(document.getElementById('depreciationPeriod').value) || 1;
    
    // Validate inputs
    if (cost <= 0 || life <= 0 || period <= 0 || period > life) {
        alert('Please enter valid values');
        return;
    }
    
    // Calculate depreciation using DDB method
    let currentValue = cost;
    let depreciation = 0;
    let scheduleHTML = '';
    
    for (let year = 1; year <= life; year++) {
        const rate = 2 / life;
        let yearDepreciation = currentValue * rate;
        
        // Adjust depreciation if it would take value below salvage
        if (currentValue - yearDepreciation < salvage) {
            yearDepreciation = currentValue - salvage;
        }
        
        // Capture depreciation for the requested period
        if (year === period) {
            depreciation = yearDepreciation;
        }
        
        // Add to schedule
        scheduleHTML += `
            <tr>
                <td>${year}</td>
                <td>${currentValue.toFixed(2)}</td>
                <td>${(rate * 100).toFixed(0)}%</td>
                <td>${yearDepreciation.toFixed(2)}</td>
                <td>${(currentValue - yearDepreciation).toFixed(2)}</td>
            </tr>
        `;
        
        // Update current value for next year
        currentValue -= yearDepreciation;
    }
    
    // Display results
    document.getElementById('depreciationAmount').textContent = '$' + depreciation.toFixed(2);
    document.getElementById('periodDisplay').textContent = 'Year ' + period;
    document.getElementById('bookValueDisplay').textContent = 'Book Value: $' + (cost - depreciation).toFixed(2);
    document.getElementById('scheduleBody').innerHTML = scheduleHTML;
}