AC116 Unit 5 Depreciation Schedule, Three Methods Example

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A $46,000 warehouse forklift placed in service on April 1 is depreciated three ways in this AC116 Unit 5 depreciation schedule at Ridgeline Orchard Supply, the course's composite distributor. Purdue Global AC 116, Accounting II, uses one asset to show BS in Accounting students how the same cost can follow three expense patterns without error. Ridgeline's forklift has a $6,000 salvage value, a five-year life and 10,000 expected hours. Straight line takes $8,000 a year with partial first and last years. Units of activity charges $4.00 an hour as usage rises and falls. Double declining balance applies 40 percent to book value and stops in Year 5 at salvage, taking only $955.20. Each schedule proves $40,000 of total depreciation, and a closing section explains how to choose a method.

CourseAC116 Accounting II
UnitUnit 5
Paper typeDepreciation schedule
LengthAbout 580 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Accounting
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for AC116 Unit 5

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One Forklift, Three Patterns, the Same $40,000: A Unit 5 Depreciation Schedule Under Three Methods

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

AC116: Accounting II

Unit 5 Depreciation Schedule

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Ridgeline Orchard Supply, Inc., the forklift, its hours and figures are composite; the textbook, framework and tax publication cited are real.

What this part is doingStating the asset, its in-service date and the common total in the lead shows the three schedules will be comparable.
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Asset Data

Cost $46,000. Salvage value $6,000. Useful life five years. Expected use 10,000 machine hours. In service April 1, Year 1, so Year 1 includes nine months and Year 6 the remaining three. Depreciable base: $46,000 minus $6,000 equals $40,000.

Schedule 1: Straight Line

Annual depreciation: $40,000 divided by 5 equals $8,000.

1. Year 0: book value $46,000.

2. Year 1: $8,000 times 9/12 equals $6,000; accumulated $6,000; book value $40,000.

3. Year 2: $8,000; accumulated $14,000; book value $32,000.

4. Year 3: $8,000; accumulated $22,000; book value $24,000.

5. Year 4: $8,000; accumulated $30,000; book value $16,000.

6. Year 5: $8,000; accumulated $38,000; book value $8,000.

7. Year 6: $8,000 times 3/12 equals $2,000; accumulated $40,000; book value $6,000.

Schedule 2: Units of Activity

Rate per hour: $40,000 divided by 10,000 hours equals $4.00.

1. Year 1: 1,500 hours, $6,000; accumulated $6,000; book value $40,000.

2. Year 2: 2,300 hours, $9,200; accumulated $15,200; book value $30,800.

3. Year 3: 2,200 hours, $8,800; accumulated $24,000; book value $22,000.

4. Year 4: 1,900 hours, $7,600; accumulated $31,600; book value $14,400.

5. Year 5: 1,400 hours, $5,600; accumulated $37,200; book value $8,800.

6. Year 6: 700 hours, $2,800; accumulated $40,000; book value $6,000.

Schedule 3: Double Declining Balance

Rate: twice the straight-line rate of 20 percent, or 40 percent, applied to opening book value without subtracting salvage.

1. Year 1: $46,000 times 40 percent times 9/12 equals $13,800; accumulated $13,800; book value $32,200.

2. Year 2: $32,200 times 40 percent equals $12,880; accumulated $26,680; book value $19,320.

3. Year 3: $19,320 times 40 percent equals $7,728; accumulated $34,408; book value $11,592.

4. Year 4: $11,592 times 40 percent equals $4,636.80; accumulated $39,044.80; book value $6,955.20.

5. Year 5: 40 percent would be $2,782.08, which would take book value below salvage, so only $955.20 is taken; accumulated $40,000; book value $6,000.

6. Year 6: no depreciation.

The double declining balance schedule stops in Year 5 with $955.20 rather than the formula's $2,782.08, because the method's rate ignores salvage value and must be cut off where book value reaches it.

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence explains the cutoff that graders check first in a declining balance schedule.
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Proof

Each method's total depreciation equals cost minus salvage. Straight line: $6,000 plus four years of $8,000 plus $2,000 equals $40,000. Units of activity: $6,000 plus $9,200, $8,800, $7,600, $5,600 and $2,800 equals $40,000. Double declining balance: $13,800 plus $12,880, $7,728, $4,636.80 and $955.20 equals $40,000.

What the Patterns Mean

All three methods allocate the same cost; they differ in timing (Franklin et al., 2019). Straight line suits an asset used evenly. Units of activity ties expense to the forklift's actual hours, so the busy harvest years of Years 2 and 3 carry more expense. Double declining balance front-loads expense, charging 60 percent of the base in the first two years, which suits equipment that loses usefulness quickly. The choice should reflect how the asset's benefits are actually consumed, since the framework asks that information faithfully represent the economic pattern (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2018). For the tax return, the forklift falls under the IRS recovery-period tables instead, so the tax figure can differ from every book schedule here (Internal Revenue Service, 2025).

What this part is doingEnding with how to choose among methods shows the schedules were understood, not only computed.
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References

Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2018). Conceptual framework for financial reporting: Chapter 1, The objective of general purpose financial reporting, and Chapter 3, Qualitative characteristics of useful financial information (Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 8, as amended). https://www.fasb.org

Franklin, M., Graybeal, P., & Cooper, D. (2019). Principles of accounting, volume 1: Financial accounting. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-financial-accounting

Internal Revenue Service. (2025). How to depreciate property (Publication 946). https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946

The Purdue Global AC116 Unit 5 instructions

The fifth AC116 unit supplies one asset's cost, salvage value, useful life and sometimes its expected output, and asks for schedules under two or three methods. Build each schedule with columns for year, computation, expense, accumulated depreciation and ending book value, starting from a row zero at cost. Prorate the first and last years when the asset entered service mid-year, using the convention the problem states. For units of activity, compute the rate per unit first. For double declining balance, apply twice the straight-line rate to opening book value without subtracting salvage, and stop at salvage. Prove each schedule by showing total depreciation equals cost minus salvage. A short comparison of the patterns adds value. Expect two pages of tables. Cite the textbook in APA 7.

Inside the AC116 Unit 5 example

The sample states the asset data and computes the $40,000 depreciable base. The straight-line schedule takes $6,000 for nine months, four full years of $8,000 and $2,000 for the final three months. The units of activity schedule uses yearly hours from 1,500 to 700 at $4.00 each. The double declining balance schedule applies 40 percent, prorated in Year 1, and in Year 5 limits the charge to $955.20, which the highlighted sentence explains. A proof section adds each schedule to $40,000. A closing section compares the patterns, links the choice to how the forklift's benefits are consumed, cites the conceptual framework and notes that tax depreciation uses separate IRS tables.

Reading the AC116 Unit 5 grading rubric

Depreciation schedules are graded on correct calculations, correct proration and correct ending values. Graders check that book value never falls below salvage, especially under declining balance. Partial years must follow the stated convention. The units of activity rate must be computed from the depreciable base, not from cost. Each schedule should prove to the depreciable base, and a missing proof can cost points even when the rows are right. Consistent columns across the three tables help graders compare them. A brief comparison of the methods earns interpretation credit. Accurate tables complete most of the remaining credit, and a correctly formatted APA 7 citation for the textbook closes the rubric.

AC116 Unit 5 help from the desk

The most common depreciation error is subtracting salvage value before applying the double declining rate, which understates early expense. Others let declining balance run below salvage in the final years. Partial years are ignored, so the asset is fully depreciated a year early. The units of activity rate is computed from total cost instead of cost minus salvage. Accumulated depreciation columns are not carried forward. Proofs are missing, so an error of a few dollars in one year goes unnoticed until the final row lands below salvage or above it. If your asset data are in hand but the schedules will not land on salvage, our team can build each method from your problem.

Get an AC116 Unit 5 example written to your instructions

An asset's cost, salvage, life and in-service date from your Unit 5 problem are enough once the instructions and rubric are attached. Expect every requested method laid out year by year within 24-48h, each proved to the depreciable base and compared over its first two years. The first custom sample carries no fee. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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AC116 Unit 5 questions, answered

Which partial-year convention does the sample use?

The one the problem states. Many AC116 problems specify monthly proration from the in-service date; others use a half-year convention, where every asset receives six months of expense in its first and last years regardless of purchase date. When the instructions are silent, the sample names its choice in the asset facts block and applies it to all methods identically.

Why does units of activity produce an uneven pattern?

Because expense follows the machine's use rather than the calendar. A year of heavy output carries more depreciation than a quiet one, which suits assets that wear out through operation, such as delivery trucks. AC116 problems usually supply hours or miles by year; the sample multiplies each by the per-unit rate and lets total estimated output, not the count of years, set the end point.

Do all three methods need to appear if the problem names two?

No. The sample builds only the methods the problem asks for. Units of activity appears in this example because many AC116 problems supply machine hours alongside the life in years, but when a section asks for straight line against an accelerated method only, the third table is dropped and the comparison grid shrinks to two columns.

Where can I find a free AC116 Unit 5 sample paper?

This page has a complete AC116 Unit 5 depreciation schedule for a warehouse forklift under straight line, units of activity and double declining balance, each proved to $40,000.

Why does double declining balance stop early in the AC116 Unit 5 sample?

In Year 5 the 40 percent rate would take book value below the $6,000 salvage value. Only $955.20 is charged, bringing book value exactly to salvage, and nothing is charged in Year 6.