Returns the depreciation of an asset for any period you specify, including partial periods, using the double-declining balance method or some other method you specify. VDB stands for variable declining balance.
Cost is the initial cost of the asset.
Salvage is the value at the end of the depreciation (sometimes called the salvage value of the asset). This value can be 0.
Life is the number of periods over which the asset is depreciated (sometimes called the useful life of the asset).
Start_period is the starting period for which you want to calculate the depreciation. Start_period must use the same units as life.
End_period is the ending period for which you want to calculate the depreciation. End_period must use the same units as life.
Factor is the rate at which the balance declines. If factor is omitted, it is assumed to be 2 (the double-declining balance method). Change factor if you do not want to use the double-declining balance method. For a description of the double-declining balance method, see DDB.
No_switch is a logical value specifying whether to switch to straight-line depreciation when depreciation is greater than the declining balance calculation.
- If no_switch is TRUE, Microsoft Excel does not switch to straight-line depreciation even when the depreciation is greater than the declining balance calculation.
- If no_switch is FALSE or omitted, Excel switches to straight-line depreciation when depreciation is greater than the declining balance calculation.
All arguments except no_switch must be positive numbers.
The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.
How to copy an example
- Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
- Select the example in the Help topic.
Note Do not select the row or column headers.
Selecting an example from Help
- Press CTRL+C.
- In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
- To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Show Formulas button.
||Lifetime in years
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4*365, 0, 1)
||First day's depreciation. Excel automatically assumes that factor is 2 (1.32)
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4*12, 0, 1)
||First month's depreciation (40.00)
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4, 0, 1)
||First year's depreciation (480.00)
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4*12, 6, 18)
||Depreciation between the sixth month and the eighteenth month (396.31)
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4*12, 6, 18, 1.5)
||Depreciation between the sixth month and the eighteenth month using a factor of 1.5 instead of the double-declining balance method (311.81)
|=VDB(A2, A3, A4, 0, 0.875, 1.5)
||Depreciation for the first fiscal year that you own the asset, assuming that tax laws limit you to 150-percent depreciation of the declining balance. Asset is purchased in the middle of the first quarter of the fiscal year. (315.00)
Note The results are rounded to two decimal places.