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Truck Depreciation Calculator — Annual & Per-Mile Depreciation

Calculate truck and trailer depreciation using straight-line or declining balance methods. Know your true asset cost per mile for accurate owner-operator costing.

Quick answer: Straight-line depreciation = (Purchase Price − Salvage Value) ÷ Useful Life. A $150,000 truck with $20,000 salvage over 5 years = $26,000/year or $0.087/mile at 300,000 mi/year.

📉 Truck Depreciation Calculator

Annual Depreciation
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Total Depreciation
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Per Mile
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How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter purchase price — what you paid for the truck or trailer including any upfit costs.
  2. Enter salvage value — what you expect to sell or trade it for at end of useful life.
  3. Set useful life — typically 5–7 years for owner-operators, 3–5 for company fleets. IRS MACRS is 3 years for heavy trucks.
  4. Enter annual miles — to calculate depreciation cost per mile for your operating cost model.

Worked Example

A $145,000 sleeper cab with $18,000 salvage value over 5 years, running 120,000 miles/year.

  1. Annual depr: ($145,000 − $18,000) ÷ 5 = $25,400/year
  2. Per mile: $25,400 ÷ 120,000 = $0.2117/mile
  3. Monthly: $25,400 ÷ 12 = $2,117/month

Depreciation of $0.21/mile is a significant cost often underestimated by owner-operators. Budget for it monthly — even without a loan payment, the asset is consuming value.

Frequently Asked Questions

For tax purposes, most trucking assets use IRS MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System). Heavy trucks (Class 8) are 3-year MACRS property. Section 179 allows immediate expensing up to the annual limit ($1.16M in 2024). Bonus depreciation allows 60% first-year deduction in 2024.

Depreciation is a real operating cost even if you own the truck outright. A $130,000 truck depreciating at $25,000/year running 100,000 miles costs $0.25/mile — more than many drivers realize. This is why high-mileage trucks with low book value have a real operating cost advantage.