THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE OF THE OPTIMUM DEPRECIATION PROCEDURE*

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the research was to determine the economic advantage of the accelerated depreciation procedures allowed by Revenue Procedure 67–40. This income tax procedure allows relatively free choice of depreciation method at any point in the asset's life. This choice affects two decisions. First, the decision to acquire a particular asset and second, if acquired, the depreciation method to be used for income tax purposes.A deterministic computer simulation was used to calculate the economic advantage of the new optimum procedure compared to the sum‐of‐the‐years‐digits method. The economic advantage is measured by the present worth of the depreciation tax shield. The independent variables are cost of capital, economic life, estimated salvage value, and income tax rate.The results of the simulation show that the added economic advantage of the new optimum depreciation procedure is small and is unlikely, in practical situations, to change the acquisition decision. The desirability of the new procedure for income tax purposes if the asset is acquired is less clear because the costs of using the new procedure are difficult to measure.