Activity-Based Depreciation Calculator

The Activity-Based Depreciation Calculator lets you calculate depreciation based on how much an asset is actually used, not just how long you’ve owned it. This method ties expense directly to activity like hours run, miles driven, or units produced making it much more accurate for wear-and-tear-heavy equipment.

Everything updates instantly. Just enter your numbers and see the breakdown.

Options
Show Yearly Breakdown
Round Values

How to Use:

  1. Enter the Asset Cost and Salvage Value.
  2. Input the Total Expected Activity (e.g. total miles, hours, or units).
  3. Provide Activity Per Year as a comma-separated list (e.g. 2000,1800,2200).
  4. Use the Options toggles to:
    • Show or hide the Yearly Breakdown
    • Enable or disable Rounded Values
  5. The output flashes when updated. Export, copy, or clear using the buttons below.

What Activity-Based Depreciation Calculator can do:

The Activity-Based Depreciation Calculator computes per-unit depreciation using the asset’s cost, salvage value, and total activity. Then, it multiplies that per-unit rate by the actual yearly usage to give you a precise depreciation schedule.

This is especially useful when assets don’t lose value evenly over time think vehicles, tools, or industrial machines. You can toggle rounding or breakdowns, and export results instantly.

Example:

Settings: Asset Cost: 12000, Salvage Value: 2000, Total Activity: 10000 Activity Per Year: 2000,2000,2000,2000,2000 Show Breakdown: ON, Round Values: OFF

Output:

Depreciable Basis: 10000
Rate Per Unit: 1

Year 1: 2000.00
Year 2: 2000.00
Year 3: 2000.00
Year 4: 2000.00
Year 5: 2000.00

Total Depreciation: 10000.00

Common Use Cases:

Use this for assets that are used unevenly year-to-year like generators, tractors, production machines, or anything with hours/meters. It’s ideal for accountants, small business owners, or students who want a flexible, usage-based depreciation model.

Useful Tools & Suggestions:

If you’re breaking depreciation down by activity, the Units of Production Depreciation Calculator is worth a look it’s built around usage levels too, making it great for equipment or machinery tracking. You could also try the Depreciation Calculator for Real Estate if you’re handling property that includes both fixed costs and usage-based considerations.

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