> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.immodio.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.immodio.app/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md). # Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding vehicles and buildings) Help on the Immodio entry item Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings).
Use this category for the **annual depreciation of depreciable assets** that serve your letting activity and are used over several years. These can include, for example, a fitted kitchen in a let apartment, higher-value furniture in a furnished apartment or other durable fittings and devices. {% hint style="info" %} **Important:** do not enter the original purchase price of the asset here. Only the **depreciation amount** determined for the year concerned belongs in this category. You can find a detailed explanation of capitalising and depreciating particular cost items [**here**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/aktivierung-sofortabzug-abschreibung.md). {% endhint %} ### What is depreciation? Where an asset is expected to be used for more than one year to generate income, its acquisition or production costs are generally not recognised in full as income-related expenditure in the year of purchase. Instead the costs are spread over the expected useful life. The amount attributable to the year concerned is recognised as **depreciation for wear and tear**. Section 7 (1) EStG generally provides for the acquisition or production costs to be spread over the customary operational useful life. In the year of acquisition the straight-line depreciation is applied pro rata by month. {% hint style="info" %} You can find a detailed explanation of capitalising and depreciating particular cost items [**here**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/aktivierung-sofortabzug-abschreibung.md). {% endhint %} ### What can be entered here? Typical cases for landlords can be, for example: * a fitted kitchen in a let apartment, * furniture and furnishings with furnished letting, * higher-value devices that are part of the fittings let, * durable tools or devices used exclusively for the letting, * other movable tangible assets that serve to generate the rental income and are depreciated over several years. It is always a condition that the asset is **connected with the letting** and that the expenditure is attributable for tax to the owner concerned. ### Do not confuse acquisition and depreciation When a depreciable asset is bought, the **acquisition or production costs** arise first. They form the basis for the later depreciation. The category **"Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)"**, on the other hand, is used for the depreciation amount subsequently attributable to the year concerned. {% hint style="info" %} Where you acquire an asset for €6,000, for example, and it is depreciated over ten years, you do not enter €6,000 here but the respective annual depreciation amount. You can find a detailed explanation of capitalising and depreciating particular cost items [**here**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/aktivierung-sofortabzug-abschreibung.md). {% endhint %} ### Practical case 1: a fitted kitchen in a let apartment A particularly important case of application for landlords is the **fitted kitchen**. The Federal Fiscal Court has held that a completely renewed fitted kitchen with a sink, cooker, fitted units and electrical appliances is treated for tax as a **single asset**. The costs are not immediately deductible as maintenance expenditure but are to be depreciated over **ten years**. #### Example A new sweeper costs **€9,000** and is acquired in July 2026. With a useful life of 9 years the straight-line depreciation is in principle: **€9,000 ÷ 9 years = €1,000 per year** As the sweeper was only acquired in July, depreciation can be applied for six months only in the **year of acquisition**: **€1,000 × 6/12 = €500** In this example **€500** would be recorded in this category for the first year. In the following full years it would in principle be **€1,000** each. The acquisition and the depreciation have to be distinguished: * **€9,000 of acquisition costs** → are entered in the category **"**[**Tools (for example a lawnmower, sweeper, hedge trimmer)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10148600-werkzeuge-z-b-rasenmaeher-kehrmaschine-heckenschere.md)**"** * **€500 of depreciation in the first year**→ is entered in the category "[**Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md)". In the following years the respective annual depreciation is entered in the category "[**Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md)". The category **"**[**Tools (for example a lawnmower, sweeper, hedge trimmer)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10148600-werkzeuge-z-b-rasenmaeher-kehrmaschine-heckenschere.md)**"** is **not** used again in the following years of the depreciation for the original acquisition costs of the sweeper. ### Practical case 2: a lawnmower for let properties Another typical case of application is the purchase of a **lawnmower** used to look after the outdoor areas of let properties. Where the purchase price of the lawnmower was recorded in the category **"**[**Tools (for example a lawnmower, sweeper, hedge trimmer)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10148600-werkzeuge-z-b-rasenmaeher-kehrmaschine-heckenschere.md)**"** because of its acquisition costs, the next step is to depreciate the device over its customary operational useful life in the category "[**Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md)". {% hint style="info" %} For lawnmowers the useful life under [the official depreciation table](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Web/DE/Themen/Steuern/Steuerverwaltungu-Steuerrecht/Betriebspruefung/AfA_Tabellen/afa_tabellen.html) is **nine years**. {% endhint %} #### **Example** A lawnmower costs **€1,800** and is acquired in July 2026. The full purchase price for the acquisition itself is first recorded in the category:**"**[**Tools (for example a lawnmower, sweeper, hedge trimmer)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10148600-werkzeuge-z-b-rasenmaeher-kehrmaschine-heckenschere.md)**"**. With a useful life of nine years the straight-line depreciation is in principle: **€1,800 ÷ 9 years = €200 per year** As the lawnmower was only acquired in April, depreciation can be applied for nine months only in the year of acquisition, that is: **€200 × 9/12 = €150** The depreciation in the first year is therefore **€150**. In the following full years **€200** per year is in principle to be taken into account as depreciation. The acquisition and the depreciation have to be distinguished: * **€1,800 of acquisition costs** → recorded in the category **"**[**Tools (for example a lawnmower, sweeper, hedge trimmer)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10148600-werkzeuge-z-b-rasenmaeher-kehrmaschine-heckenschere.md)**"** * **€150 of depreciation in the first year**→ recorded in the category "[**Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md)" In the following years only the respective annual depreciation is taken into account. The lawnmower is not recorded again as an acquisition in the tools category every year, but an entry with the corresponding depreciation is made every year in the category "[**Depreciation of tangible assets (excluding depreciation on vehicles and buildings)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10002800-abschreibungen-auf-sachanlagen-ohne-afa-auf-fahrzeuge-und-gebaeude.md)". ### Note low-value assets Not every asset acquired has to be depreciated over several years. Under the statutory conditions, independently usable movable assets up to a value of **€800 excluding VAT** or **€952 including VAT** can be written off in full in the year of acquisition and are then entered in the category "[**Low-value assets**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10066400-geringwertige-wirtschaftsgueter.md)". ### Assignment in Immodio Under **"Assignment"** select the **property** or the **unit** to which the depreciation is attributable for tax. ### Record only the share relating to the letting Where an asset is used both for the letting and privately, the full depreciation amount may therefore not be applied as income-related expenditure of the letting. With mixed private and letting-related use, the costs may have to be split. ### Do not recover from the tenant The depreciation of an asset for tax is **not a recoverable operating cost item of an ordinary residential operating cost statement**. The **"Recoverable in the operating cost statement"** switch therefore has to stay **disabled** for this entry. ### Which documents should you keep? For comprehensible depreciation you should document in particular the original invoice, the date of acquisition, the acquisition or production costs, a description of the asset, the useful life applied, the calculation of the annual depreciation and the connection with the letting.