Unit of Production Depreciation Method (Formula, Examples)

Unit of Production Depreciation Definition

Unit of production depreciation, also called as activity method, calculates depreciation based on the unit of production and ignores the passage of time over the useful life of an asset, in other words, unit of production depreciation is directly proportional to production and is mainly used in the manufacturing sector.

The value of the same asset may be different due to its usage. For example, one asset X produce 10 units and another asset Y produce 20 units, both are the same asset but the depreciation of Y will be higher as compare to X asset because of more unit produced.

Unit of Production Depreciation Formula

We will segregate the unit of production depreciation formula into two parts to understand it in a better way.
Step #1: The depreciation per unit formula is represented as below,

Depreciation per Unit = ( Cost- Salvage Value) / Total Estimated Production Unit

Step #2:The depreciation Expense formula is represented as below,

Depreciation Expense = Depreciation Rate per Unit × Unit Produced in a Particular Year

Cost: It includes purchased price, installation, delivery charge, incidental expenses.

Salvage Value: it is the value that will receive at the end of the life of an asset.

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Estimated Unit of Production: It is basically an estimation of the unit produced by the asset over its useful life.

Example of Unit of Production Depreciation Method

Let’s discuss an example of a unit of production depreciation method.

You can download this Unit of Production Depreciation Excel Template here – Unit of Production Depreciation Excel Template

Suppose an item of asset acquired on 5th Jan at a cost of $ 50000 has estimated the use of 20000 hours. During the first year, the said equipment used 4000 hours. The estimated salvage value is $ 4000.

Solution:

Step #1: First we need to calculate the depreciation rate per unit, the calculation will be as below.

Depreciation per Unit = ($50000 – $4000) / 20000 Hours
Rate per Unit = $ 2.3 per Hour

Step #2: Then we need to calculate depreciation for the particular year based on depreciation rate per hour, the calculation will be as below.

Depreciation Expense = 4000 Hours × 2.3 per Hour
Depreciation Expense (Total Depreciation) = $ 9200
Value of Asset after Depreciation = ($ 50000-$9200) = $ 40800
Suppose in 2nd year the said equipment used 8000 hours then the depreciation amount will be –
Total Depreciation = 8000 hours × 2.3 per Hour = $ 18400
Value of Asset after Depreciation = ($40800-$18400) = $22400
As we can see depreciation amount is increasing due to an increase in the production unit.

Change in Unit of Production Depreciation Method

As per old accounting standard change in depreciation method treated as a change in accounting policy and depreciation charged on retrospectively.
As per the new accounting standard change in depreciation method will be treated as a change in accounting estimate and depreciation charge prospectively over the useful life of an asset.
The difference arising due to change in the unit of production method charge to profit and loss a/c. Suppose as per the old method depreciation amount is $ 1000 but as per the new method, depreciation amount is 2000.
In this case, extra depreciation arises due to change in a new method and we will debit ($2000-$1000) $ 1000 extra amount to profit and loss a/c.
Suppose if as per old method depreciation amount is $ 4000 but as new method depreciation amount is $ 3000.In this case($4000-$3000) $ 1000 will be credited to profit and loss a/c.

Advantages of Unit of Production Depreciation Method

The different advantages related to the unit of production depreciation method are as follows:

It is charged based on usage of the asset and avoid charging unnecessary depreciation. For example, machinery produced 5000 units in 340 days. Under this method, depreciation will be charged based on 5000 units which for 340 days rather than full-year hence it provides matching concept revenue and cost.
It is very helpful in determining the efficiency of an asset.
Under this method cost i.e. depreciation matches with revenue i.e. production.
Under this method, the business can track their profit and loss more accurately as compared to the straight-line method. For example, 1000 units produced by the machinery in 320 days and remaining days the machinery was idle.
Under this method depreciation charged on the basis of 320 instead of the full year. But under the straight-line method depreciation will charge for the full year. Therefore as you can see the unit production method more accurate to derive profit and loss as compared to the straight line.
Larger depreciation in most productive years can help to offset the higher costs associated with higher production levels because depreciation is direct Proportionate to unit production. More the production higher the depreciation.
For example, suppose in the first-year assets produced 1000 units and 2nd year 2000 units then production cost in 2nd year will be higher and the amount depreciation will also be higher as compared to 1 year.
This method is very useful in manufacturing business because depreciation is charged on the basis of unit produced instead of full-year or part-year.

Disadvantages of Unit of Production Depreciation

The different disadvantages related to the unit of production depreciation are as follows:

This method provided depreciation based only on usage but in reality, there is an end number of factors that cause a reduction in the value of an asset.
For example, depreciation also arises due to the efflux of time. Sometimes manufacturing assets remain idle in a factory but in this method, depreciation can not charge when a machine is idle in the factory due to which true value of the asset can not be derived by using this method.
Practically it is very difficult to calculate depreciation under this method due to complexity. For example, there are multiple assets and each asset produce different unit in a particular year. To keep a track of each asset is very difficult especially where goods are produced in multiple processes.
Under this method, the value of the two same assets may be different because of its usage.
This method can not be used for tax purposes because in this case depreciation is not consider based on unit produced rather they charge depreciation which is followed under tax regime.

Limitations

The different limitations related to the unit of production depreciation are as follows:

This method can’t apply where the machine remains idle in the factory. For example, as assets produced 1000 units in 350 days and remain idle 15 days, in this case, depreciation will calculate based on 1000 units i.e only for 350 days. Depreciation for idle period i.e 15 days will not be calculated hence it oppose passage of time.
This method can not apply to assets other than manufacturing assets such as building and furniture.
It is difficult to derive the correct value of depreciation under this method because it applies only to users and ignores the efflux of time.
This method can not be used by all businesses such as trading company, service industry because under this business depreciation is not calculated based on unit produced rather they follow the straight-line method or WDV method.

Conclusion

This method basically applies to manufacture assets where idle time is less and production is efficient. Nowadays this method more popular in determining the efficiency of an asset. It provides depreciation for each asset based on its production efficiency. The selection of this method is very critical because we need to keep track of each asset and their production so before the selection of this method please ensure everything in control otherwise it will be difficult to use this method.