Tax
Property Depreciation Calculator
Estimate depreciable property basis, annual straight-line depreciation, and first-year mid-month depreciation by service month.
Non-depreciable land allocation-
Depreciable building and improvement basis-
Full-year straight-line depreciation-
First-year mid-month depreciation-
Unrecovered basis after first year-
Straight-line monthly reference-
Exact scenario comparison
First-year mid-month percentage scenarios
Exact scenario comparisonFirst-year mid-month percentage changes while all other entered assumptions remain constant.
| First-year mid-month percentage | Non-depreciable land allocation | Depreciable building and improvement basis | Full-year straight-line depreciation | First-year mid-month depreciation | Unrecovered basis after first year | Straight-line monthly reference |
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Period-by-period detail
Monthly schedule and annual summary
How to use Property Depreciation Calculator
- Establish total property basis from acquisition and adjustment records.
- Allocate the nondepreciable land share using supported evidence.
- Add only improvements capitalized separately in the represented basis.
- Choose the recovery period that applies to the property and system.
- Select the month the property was placed in service.
- Confirm method, convention, property class, and Form 4562 treatment before filing.
Calculator guide
Understanding Property Depreciation Calculator
Estimate first-year straight-line depreciation for U.S. real property by separating nondepreciable land, adding separately capitalized improvements, selecting a recovery period, and applying the mid-month percentage for the placed-in-service month.
Detailed calculation process
How first-year property depreciation is calculated
Land is removed before the straight-line and convention calculations.
General formula: L = B x l; DB = B - L + I; A = DB/n; Y1 = A x m Land L is excluded, depreciable basis DB includes represented improvements, annual depreciation A uses recovery period n, and first-year depreciation Y1 uses the selected mid-month percentage m.
What each symbol means
Worked substitution with the default inputs
Default check: $400,000 depreciable basis minus about $13,939.39 first-year depreciation leaves about $386,060.61 unrecovered basis.
Worked situations
Practical examples
- At a $500,000 basis and 20% land share, land is $100,000 and the depreciable basis is $400,000 before separate improvements.
- For a 27.5-year recovery period placed in service in January, annual straight-line depreciation is $14,545.45 and the first-year 95.8333% amount is about $13,939.39.
Better inputs
Useful tips
- Support the land allocation with an appraisal, assessor allocation, or other reasonable evidence.
- Track improvements by placed-in-service date when they require separate assets.
- Reconcile prior depreciation allowed or allowable before a sale or method correction.
Before relying on the result
Limitations and common mistakes
- The page does not choose GDS versus ADS, property class, bonus treatment, Section 179, or a depreciation method.
- Short tax years, dispositions, partial business use, conversions, listed property, and recapture are excluded.
- The selected mid-month percentage assumes a 12-month tax year and straight-line real-property treatment.
Reference
Key terms
- Property basis
- Cost or other basis after applicable acquisition adjustments.
- Land allocation
- Nondepreciable portion assigned to land.
- Depreciable basis
- Basis subject to the represented depreciation method.
- Placed in service
- Date property is ready and available for its intended income-producing use.
- Recovery period
- Number of years over which basis is recovered under the selected system.
- Mid-month convention
- Convention treating property as placed in service at the midpoint of the selected month.
Important note
Authority to review: IRS Publication 946 and Form 4562 instructions. The page is a real-property planning model and not a complete MACRS return calculation.
Frequently asked questions
Why use a land percentage instead of a land amount?
A 0% to 100% share cannot exceed total basis, preventing an impossible negative building allocation.
Why is January not a full year?
The mid-month convention treats the property as placed in service in the middle of January.
Is residential rental property always 27.5 years?
That is a common GDS period, but classification, ADS requirements, and current law must be confirmed.
Where do improvements go?
Enter only separately capitalized improvements represented by the same recovery and convention assumptions.
Does the result include land depreciation?
No. The land allocation is removed before depreciation.
Can I use the result directly on Form 4562?
Not without confirming system, class, method, convention, service date, prior depreciation, and all applicable limitations.