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Depreciation schedule template
A free depreciation schedule and tracker for rental property: one row per asset, the mid-month first year computed for you, running accumulated totals, and a Schedule E line 18 total that adds itself up. No email, no signup.
- One row per asset: building, each improvement, each appliance
- Mid-month first year and this-year deduction are live formulas
- Accumulated-to-date column: the number recapture is computed on
Educational template, not tax advice. The filed form for depreciation is IRS Form 4562; this schedule is the record you keep behind it. Confirm your asset lives and conventions with your CPA.
Why one row per asset
The mistake that quietly breaks depreciation records is keeping one number per property. The building, the 2024 roof, and the 2026 appliances are three different assets with three different start dates and three different lives (27.5, 27.5, and 5 years). Track them as one blob and you cannot compute the first-year proration, the year one of them runs out, or the recapture when you sell. The full table of asset lives covers what goes on which clock; this template gives each clock its own row.
The columns, briefly
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Depreciable basis | Cost minus land (land never depreciates; the land portion applies to buildings only) |
| Full-year deduction | Basis ÷ life, straight line, the same every full year |
| First-year (mid-month) | Computed from the placed-in-service month: the IRS counts from the middle of that month |
| This year's deduction | Full-year amount, automatically capped when the asset is nearly used up |
| Accumulated to date | The running total, i.e. the recapture pool at sale |
| Line 18 total row | The sum of this year's deductions across assets = your Schedule E line 18 |
What the numbers should look like
For the arithmetic behind each cell, the step-by-step guide walks a full example, and the depreciation calculator prints a year-by-year schedule you can check any row against. What the deduction is actually worth at your bracket, and what recapture claws back later, is tabulated with stated methods on our depreciation savings data page. Small purchases often skip this schedule entirely: items invoiced at $2,500 or less can usually be expensed in full with the de minimis safe harbor election, which also means no recapture on them later.
When the spreadsheet stops scaling
A schedule like this is exactly what our bookkeeping product maintains automatically: it reads placed-in-service dates and basis from your records (or extracts them from a filed return's Form 4562), keeps one schedule per asset, and ties the total to Schedule E line 18 every year. The template is the same structure, kept by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free depreciation schedule template for rental property?
Yes, this one, with no email wall. It is a spreadsheet (XLSX) that opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers: one row per asset, the depreciable basis and deductions as live formulas, and a total row that equals your Schedule E line 18.
How do I keep a depreciation schedule for a rental property?
One row per asset, dated. The building, each capital improvement, and each appliance get their own row with their own placed-in-service date and recovery life (27.5 years for the building and structural improvements, 15 for land improvements, 5 for appliances). Track cost, land portion, accumulated depreciation to date, and the current-year deduction. The template computes everything after cost, land, date, and life.
What is the mid-month convention?
Residential rental property starts depreciating from the middle of the month it is placed in service, whatever the day. Place a $300,000 building in service in March and the first year gets 9.5 of 12 months of deduction. The template's first-year column computes this from the month you enter.
Is this the same as Form 4562?
No. Form 4562 is the form filed with your return in years you place assets in service; this schedule is the running record you keep behind it, and behind Schedule E line 18 in every other year. Preparers routinely ask for exactly this asset-by-asset history when you change CPAs or sell.
What happens to accumulated depreciation when I sell?
It is taxed as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain at up to 25%, whether or not you actually took the deductions (the IRS recaptures what was allowed or allowable). The accumulated-to-date column is that pool. A 1031 exchange defers it; skipping depreciation does not avoid it.