Semi Truck Depreciation Calculator

A semi truck is usually the biggest asset an owner-operator or small fleet has, and how fast it loses value drives both cost-per-mile pricing and the tax return. This calculator builds a year-by-year depreciation schedule with the method you need: straight line or declining balance for your own books, per mile for pricing freight, or the MACRS tables the IRS uses for tractors, trucks and trailers.

How to use this tool

1. Enter the purchase price, including taxes and set-up costs.
2. Enter the resale value you expect at the end and the years you will keep the truck.
3. Choose a method: MACRS 3-year for over-the-road tractor units, 5-year for other heavy trucks and trailers.
4. For per-mile figures, enter expected lifetime miles and miles per year.

Formula

Straight line = (cost − salvage) ÷ years; per mile = (cost − salvage) ÷ lifetime miles; MACRS = cost × table rate

Declining balance charges a fixed share of the remaining book value each year (2 ÷ life for double declining) and switches to straight line when that is larger, never going below salvage. MACRS ignores salvage and uses IRS Publication 946 rates: asset class 00.26 (tractor units for over-the-road use) is 3-year property, while 00.242 (heavy general-purpose trucks) and 00.27 (trailers) are 5-year property. Mileage schedules are limited to 400 annual rows and include the final partial-use year.

Example

A $165,000 tractor kept five years and sold for $45,000 loses (165,000 − 45,000) ÷ 5 = $24,000 a year on a straight-line basis. At 120,000 miles a year that is $120,000 ÷ 600,000 = $0.20 a mile to build into your rate. Under MACRS 3-year the tax schedule is front-loaded instead: $54,994.50 (33.33%) in the first year and $73,342.50 (44.45%) in the second.