What a car is worth each year if it loses a fixed share of its value, at a rate you choose
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 30 Oct 2026.Cars usually lose value fastest in the first years, which a declining-balance schedule models: each year the same percentage comes off whatever the car is still worth. At 15% a year a $35,000 car is worth $29,750 after one year and $15,529.69 after five. The rate is yours to set; the page does not claim one for any make or model.
| At 10% a year | At 15% a year | At 20% a year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| End of year 1 | $31,500 | $29,750 | $28,000 |
| End of year 2 | $28,350 | $25,287.50 | $22,400 |
| End of year 3 | $25,515 | $21,494.38 | $17,920 |
| End of year 4 | $22,963.50 | $18,270.22 | $14,336 |
| End of year 5 | $20,667.15 | $15,529.69 | $11,468.80 |
Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 30 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
The page opens on Written-down value in dollars with a $35,000 car at 15% a year over 5 years.
Enter the price you paid as the Cost of the asset, and the years you plan to keep it as the Useful life.
Type the yearly rate you expect under Rate on written-down value; a used-car guide for your model is a good source.
Read the value left after each year in Year by year, and the total lost under Total depreciation.
Depreciation spreads the cost of an asset over the years it earns money. This calculator builds the schedule for one asset, year by year, with the opening value, the charge, the closing value and the running total, by any of four methods.
Straight line charges the same amount every year: cost less salvage value, divided by the useful life. Written-down value (declining balance) charges a fixed percentage of whatever value is left, so the charge falls each year; the page can find the rate that brings the cost to your salvage value in the chosen life. Double declining charges twice the straight-line rate on the value left and moves to straight line in the year that gives the larger charge, so the asset reaches its salvage value on time. Units of production charges a fixed amount for each unit the asset makes, so a year of heavy use carries a heavy charge. No method takes the value below the salvage value.
Income-tax rates. For tax, depreciation in India is charged on the written-down value of a block of assets at the rates in Appendix I of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, in force from 1 April 2026. The page offers the common blocks, such as 15% for plant and machinery, 10% for furniture and 40% for computers, read in the notified rules on 29 September 2026. Under section 33(4) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, an asset bought in the tax year and used for less than 180 days in it gets half the rate that year. For a block not listed, type the rate from Appendix I.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about Depreciation Calculator, are on the Depreciation Calculator page.
Straight line charges the same amount every year, which suits assets used evenly, such as furniture. Written-down value charges a fixed percentage of the value that is left, so the charge is highest in the first year and falls after that, which suits machines and computers that lose value fastest when new.
Section 33(4) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 limits the deduction to half the prescribed rate for an asset acquired during the tax year and put to use for less than 180 days in that year. A computer bought in November therefore gets 20% instead of 40% in its first year, and the full rate after that.
Double declining balance applies twice the straight-line rate to the value left each year: 40% a year for a five-year life. Because a declining charge never quite reaches the salvage value, the calculator moves to straight line on the remaining value in the year that gives the larger charge, and marks that year in the schedule.
Salvage value, also called residual or scrap value, is what the asset should fetch at the end of its useful life. Depreciation stops there, so a ₹5,00,000 machine expected to sell for ₹50,000 is depreciated by ₹4,50,000 in total. Enter zero if the asset will be worth nothing.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Depreciation Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
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