Tax depreciation is a form of depreciation used by the Internal Revenue Service to determine the amount of depreciation deduction on the tax return. There are several methods allowed by the code and depending on your business and/or industry the IRS has a schedule for the maximum amount allowed in the respective tax year.
Basis is a term used in computing gains and losses on the disposition of an asset. For any business owner or individual taxpayer it is important to understand what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is really seeking. What is your tax basis in an asset?
When it comes to depreciation, no two businesses are alike. Unlike traditional straight line depreciation where the asset value is costed out to depreciation expense in equal increments over a given life expectancy, accelerated depreciation expenses the cost at higher values during the earlier accounting periods and at a lower amount towards the last half of the asset’s life expectancy.
There are various forms of depreciation used in the small business world. In general, depreciation is not required but it is advisable. A small business owner should understand depreciation and the various forms of how to calculate the deduction.
In the world of accounting, there are two types of expenses on the reports widely misunderstood. They are depreciation and amortization. I will try to help the novice gain an understanding of depreciation in this article.
