scriptiii
100% Client-Side

SLM: (cost − salvage) ÷ life · WDV: rate × opening balance

Depreciation calculator

Work out depreciation by straight line or written down value, with the rate, the annual charge and the closing book value for every year.

Short answer: SLM charges the same rupee amount every year —(cost − salvage) ÷ life. WDV charges a fixed percentage of the falling balance, so the charge is largest in year one. A ₹1,00,000 asset with ₹10,000 salvage over 5 years is ₹18,000 a year on SLM, or about 36.9% of the balance on WDV.

Choosing between them

SLM suits assets that wear evenly — furniture, a leasehold improvement. WDV suits assets that lose value fastest when new — computers, vehicles, machinery — and it front-loads the expense, which reduces early-year profit. The schedule above shows the shape of each, which is easier to judge than the rule.

Worked example

Cost ₹5,00,000, salvage ₹50,000, life 8 years. SLM: (5,00,000 − 50,000) ÷ 8 = ₹56,250 a year. WDV: rate = 1 − (50,000 ÷ 5,00,000)^(1/8) = 25.0%, so year one is ₹1,25,000 and year eight is about ₹16,300 — same total, very different timing.

Not a statutory computation. Companies Act Schedule II and Income-tax Act block depreciation use prescribed rates and part-year rules. Use this page for the arithmetic, then apply the statute's rate.

Depreciation questions

What is the straight line method of depreciation?

SLM charges (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life every year, so the annual charge is identical and the book value falls in a straight line. A ₹1,00,000 asset with ₹10,000 salvage over 5 years is charged ₹18,000 a year, or 18% of cost.

How is the WDV rate calculated?

The derived rate is 1 − (salvage ÷ cost)^(1 ÷ life). For ₹1,00,000 to ₹10,000 over 5 years that is about 36.9%. Each year charges that percentage of the opening book value, so the rupee amount shrinks every year even though the rate stays fixed.

Does this follow the Companies Act or Income-tax Act?

No, and the page will not pretend otherwise. Both statutes prescribe rates by asset class, and the Income-tax Act uses block-of-assets WDV with half-rate rules for assets put to use late in the year. This calculator is arithmetic on the numbers you enter, useful for study, estimates and internal schedules.

Why does the WDV schedule stop at salvage value?

Because depreciating below the estimated salvage would overstate the expense. The last year is capped so the closing book value lands exactly on salvage; without that cap, a rounded rate leaves a small residual or overshoots it.

Related tools

Simple interest calculatorInterest without reinvestment.Break-even calculatorFixed costs, contribution and the volume that covers them.GST calculatorInclusive and exclusive GST at any rate.