--- title: "Depreciation Schedule Template (Excel, 2026) | Ledgerbrook" source: https://ledgerbrook.com/templates/depreciation-schedule-template/ description: "Free depreciation schedule template for Excel or online: MACRS for every asset, Section 179 and bonus at 2026 limits, totaled by Form 4562 line." --- Free template # Depreciation Schedule Template A depreciation schedule lists each business asset with its **date placed in service, cost, recovery period and method**, and the depreciation for every year until the cost is recovered. This one follows IRS MACRS with Section 179 and bonus depreciation, picks the convention, and totals the year the way**Form 4562** asks for it. Use it right here, or download it for Excel and Google Sheets. [Use it on this page](#ds-app)[Download Excel (.xlsx)](/downloads/templates/ledgerbrook-depreciation-schedule-template.xlsx)[or with sample data](/downloads/templates/ledgerbrook-depreciation-schedule-template-sample.xlsx) No sign-up. Your assets stay in your browser and are never uploaded. Depreciation schedule Loading… Download my ExcelPrintReset Load the sample assetsReplaces your entries with example dataErase everythingStart a blank register Full screen You're looking at **sample assets** for a landscaping company, from a building to a car. Click around, then start your own. Start my schedule Form 4562 summaryAsset registerSchedule by yearSetup Loading the schedule… Saved automatically in this browser only. Use _Download my Excel_ or the backup on Setup to keep a copy. Figures are estimates for planning and for your preparer, not tax advice. Ledgerbrook The books behind these numbers, kept for you. US small business bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online. Fixed prices, agreed before any work starts. [Get a free file review](/contact/?from=templates%2Fdepreciation-schedule-template) Bookkeeping or CPA firm? [We work under your name](/for-bookkeeping-firms/). - [Behind on the booksCleanup and catch-up$99per month of backlog20% off 6+ monthsSee what's included](/quickbooks-cleanup/) - [Every monthMonthly bookkeeping$149a month and upReconciled and closed every monthSee what's included](/monthly-bookkeeping/) - [At year endCPA handoff pack$199a client, one-timeA file your CPA can file fromSee what's included](/for-cpas/) How to use it ## Six steps to a schedule your preparer can use The recovery periods and rates come from [IRS Publication 946](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946). What you decide is which assets go on it, when they went into service, and how much to expense up front. 1. 01 Start with last year's schedule Your tax preparer's depreciation report lists every asset still being depreciated, with dates and cost. Enter those first, then add this year's purchases. 2. 02 Use the date placed in service A machine bought in December and installed in January starts depreciating in January. The date decides the year, the convention and the bonus rate. 3. 03 Capitalize the full cost Include sales tax, freight and setup. Items under the de minimis threshold you expensed in the books stay off the schedule. 4. 04 Pick the recovery period Pick the class from Publication 946's table. The dropdown gives common examples for each one. 5. 05 Decide Section 179 and bonus with your preparer Both front-load the deduction. Expensing it all helps this year but leaves nothing for later years, and states don't always follow. 6. 06 Hand over the Form 4562 summary Download my Excel at year end and send it with your books. Post the year's total as one depreciation journal entry. What's inside ## Every asset, every year, and the Form 4562 lines Form 4562 summary This year's depreciation laid out by Form 4562 line: Section 179, bonus, MACRS by class and listed property. Asset register One row per asset with cost, date, class, business use, Section 179 and bonus, plus this year's deduction. Schedule by year Every asset's deduction from its first year to its last, and the total for the next ten years. Convention check Counts the basis placed in service in October to December and switches the year to mid-quarter past 40%. Section 179 limits The 2026 dollar limit, the phase-out above $4,090,000 and the business income limit, with the carryover. Vehicle caps Section 280F caps for cars, the SUV Section 179 cap, and straight-line ADS at 50% business use or less. Excel workbook Assets, Form 4562, Schedule, Rates and Limits sheets with live formulas. Opens in Excel and Google Sheets. Rates by date Bonus depreciation at the rate for the date placed in service: 80% in 2023, 60% in 2024, 100% after January 19, 2025. Format ## What a depreciation schedule includes The same columns appear in a CPA's fixed asset report and in this template. Keep them for every asset until it's sold or fully depreciated, then keep the record with that year's return. Asset What it is, specific enough to find later: "2026 Ford Transit 250", not "van". Placed in service The date it was ready and available for use. This starts depreciation, not the purchase date. Cost (basis) Price plus sales tax, delivery and installation. Land is never depreciated, so leave it out of a building's cost. Recovery period The MACRS class: 5 years for vehicles and computers, 7 for furniture and most equipment, 27.5 or 39 for buildings. Method and convention Declining balance or straight line, and half-year, mid-quarter or mid-month. The template works both out for you. Section 179 and bonus What you expensed in the first year, so the schedule depreciates only what's left. Depreciation each year This year's deduction, the running total (accumulated depreciation) and the basis still to recover. Example ## A $10,000 machine on a 7-year schedule 7-year property under the half-year convention, no Section 179 and no bonus. The half-year convention treats it as placed in service mid-year, so the cost is recovered over eight tax years. The rates are Table A-1 in Publication 946 before rounding: the printed table shows 8.93% in years 5 and 7 so its column adds to 100%, which moves a figure by a dollar or so against tax software. Each year's rate on any asset class is in the [MACRS depreciation calculator](/tools/macrs-depreciation-calculator/). | Tax year | Rate | Depreciation | Accumulated | Book value | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026 | 14.29% | $1,429 | $1,429 | $8,571 | | 2027 | 24.49% | $2,449 | $3,878 | $6,122 | | 2028 | 17.49% | $1,749 | $5,627 | $4,373 | | 2029 | 12.49% | $1,249 | $6,876 | $3,124 | | 2030 | 8.92% | $892 | $7,769 | $2,231 | | 2031 | 8.92% | $892 | $8,661 | $1,339 | | 2032 | 8.92% | $892 | $9,554 | $446 | | 2033 | 4.46% | $446 | $10,000 | $0 | Form 4562 ## Where each figure goes on the return Form 4562 reports the year's depreciation and amortization. The summary tab fills these lines from your register. Your preparer still enters them; see the [Form 4562 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i4562). Part I, lines 1 to 13 Section 179: the dollar limit, the phase-out, your elections, the business income limit and any carryover. Part II, line 14 Bonus depreciation on this year's assets, except vehicles and other listed property. Part III, line 17 MACRS on assets placed in service in earlier years. Part III, line 19 MACRS on this year's assets, by recovery class, after Section 179 and bonus. Part V, line 21 Cars and other listed property: business use, the 280F caps, and ADS at 50% or less. Line 22 Total depreciation, which a sole proprietor carries to Schedule C line 13. 2026 rules ## Section 179 or bonus depreciation Both let you deduct an asset's cost in the year you place it in service. Section 179 is elected asset by asset, up to $2,560,000 for 2026, and can't take the business below zero income. Bonus depreciation is 100% for property acquired after January 19, 2025, applies to a whole class unless you elect out, and can create a loss. The template applies Section 179 first, then bonus to what's left, then MACRS to the rest. For which to pick, see [Section 179 vs bonus depreciation](/blog/section-179-vs-bonus-depreciation/). In the books ## Depreciation and QuickBooks QuickBooks Online doesn't work out MACRS tax depreciation. Record each asset at cost to a fixed asset account when you buy it, then post the year's total once: debit Depreciation Expense, credit Accumulated Depreciation. The [depreciation journal entry guide](/blog/journal-entry-for-depreciation/) walks through it. Keep this register next to the books. When an asset is sold or scrapped, its cost and accumulated depreciation come off together; see the [disposal entry](/blog/journal-entry-for-disposal-of-asset/). The template doesn't work out a sale, so give your preparer the date and price, and remove the asset from the register after that year's return. When the spreadsheet gets heavy ## Rather hand the books to someone? Ledgerbrook keeps small business books in QuickBooks Online: categorized, reconciled every month, with fixed assets recorded at cost and depreciation posted from your preparer's schedule. Fixed monthly price, no contract. [See monthly bookkeeping](/monthly-bookkeeping/)[Pricing](/pricing/) Frequently asked ## Depreciation schedule FAQ ### How do I create a depreciation schedule? List every business asset you still depreciate. For each, record the date placed in service, the cost, the MACRS recovery period, and any Section 179 or bonus depreciation taken in the first year. Then apply the IRS percentage for each year to what's left. The template on this page does the percentages, picks the convention and totals the year for Form 4562. ### What is the typical format of a depreciation schedule? One row per asset, with columns for the description, date placed in service, cost, recovery period, method and convention, Section 179 and bonus, this year's depreciation, accumulated depreciation and remaining basis. A year-by-year view shows each asset's deduction until it's fully recovered. ### How can I create a depreciation schedule in Excel? Download the Excel file on this page. Type each asset on the Assets sheet and the formulas look up the IRS MACRS rate for its class, convention and year, then total the year on the Form 4562 sheet. To build your own, the depreciation for a year is the remaining basis times the Publication 946 table rate for that recovery year. ### What is an example of a depreciation schedule? $10,000 of 7-year equipment under the half-year convention, with no Section 179 or bonus, deducts $1,429, $2,449, $1,749 in its first three years and finishes in year 8. The full table is on this page, and the sample register in the template has seven assets, from a building to a car. ### Where do you get a depreciation schedule? Your tax preparer's software produces one each year with the return. Ask for the depreciation or fixed asset report, which lists every asset with its basis and accumulated depreciation. QuickBooks Online doesn't work out MACRS tax depreciation, so the schedule won't be in your books. ### What is the simplest way to calculate depreciation? Straight line: cost minus salvage value, divided by the useful life, the same amount each year. That's common for book depreciation. Federal tax returns use MACRS instead, which front-loads the deduction, and many small businesses expense assets in year one with Section 179 or bonus depreciation. ### What are the depreciation rules for 2026? Bonus depreciation is 100% for property acquired after January 19, 2025, made permanent by Public Law 119-21. The 2026 Section 179 limit is $2,560,000, reduced dollar for dollar once Section 179 property placed in service passes $4,090,000, and an SUV over 6,000 lb is capped at $32,000. A car placed in service in 2026 can deduct at most $20,300 in its first year with bonus. ### Who can prepare a depreciation schedule? Your CPA or enrolled agent usually keeps it in their tax software. A bookkeeper can maintain the asset list during the year, so the preparer only has to check it. You can keep one yourself with this template, and it's worth doing if you change preparers, since the history has to move with you. ### Do I need to keep a depreciation schedule if I expense everything? Yes. An asset fully expensed with Section 179 or bonus still belongs on the register. When you sell it, the depreciation you took is recaptured as income, and a car's business use has to stay above 50% or part of the deduction comes back. ### When does the mid-quarter convention apply? When more than 40% of the depreciable basis of the year's personal property (everything but buildings) is placed in service in the last three months of the tax year. Then every asset placed in service that year, except buildings, uses the mid-quarter tables. The template checks this for each year. Section 179 reduces the basis counted; bonus depreciation does not. ### Is book depreciation the same as tax depreciation? Not always. Many small businesses post the tax figure to their books to keep one set of numbers. Others use straight line for financial statements and MACRS for the return. For a straight-line book schedule, use the workbook in the [depreciation journal entry guide](/blog/journal-entry-for-depreciation/). ### Does this depreciation schedule work in Google Sheets? Yes. Download the .xlsx file, then in Google Sheets choose File, Import, Upload. The formulas work the same in Excel and Google Sheets. ### Where is my data stored when I use the online version? Only in your own browser, using local storage on your device. Nothing is sent to Ledgerbrook. Use Download backup on the Setup tab, or Download my Excel, to move it to another device. Updated November 3, 2026