Depreciation and Capital Gains


Table of Contents
Depreciation and Capital Gains
Capital Gains - Asset Appreciation
Depreciation of Assets

Depreciation and Capital Gains

If you hold assets for business purposes, thier decline in value over time can be treated as a deduction for tax purposes, called Depreciation. On the other hand, if you own assets such as real estate, collectibles (like paintings), and investments (like shares in companies), you may see them appreciate in value over time. In this case, you must recognize -- for tax purposes -- what are called Captial Gains

This section discusses the handling of depreciation and appreciation of assets in GnuCash. It also provides a brief introduction to the related tax issues.

Warning: Be aware that different countries can have substantially different tax policies for handling these things; all that this document can really provide is some of the underlying ideas to help you apply your "favorite" tax/depreciation policies.

Appreciation and depreciation of assets are treated somewhat differently: