Declining-balance method is a depreciation method that applies a constant rate to the declining book value of the asset and produces a decreasing annual depreciation expense over the useful life of the asset.
The declining-balance method produces a decreasing annual depreciation expense over the asset’s useful life. The method is so named because the periodic depreciation is based on a declining book value (cost less accumulated depreciation) of the asset. With this method, companies compute annual depreciation expense by multiplying the book value at the beginning of the year by the declining-balance depreciation rate. The depreciation rate remains constant from year to year, but the book value to which the rate is applied declines each year.