If there is an obligation to restore the land to a usable condition, the firm adds these estimated restoration costs to the costs to develop the site. Depletion is an accrual accounting technique used to allocate the cost of extracting natural resources such as timber, minerals, and oil from the earth. In some instances, companies buy only the right to extract the natural resource from someone else’s land.
- Plant assets and natural resources are tangible assets used by a company to produce revenues.
- A single line offering the greenback amount of charges for the accounting period seems on the income assertion.
- Accrual accounting permits companies to recognize capital expenses in periods that reflect the use of the related capital asset.
- Depletion thus occurs due to the exhaustion of supply of the specific natural resource.
- Many companies rely on capital assets such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, and machinery as part of their operations.
Because firms use this method only for income tax purposes and not for financial statements, we do not discuss it in this text. Kerr-McGee Corporation is a global energy and chemical company engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, and the production and marketing of titanium dioxide pigment. In notes to its financial statements, Kerr-McGee states that the company’s geologists and engineers in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission https://personal-accounting.org/ definitions have prepared estimates of proved reserves. These estimates include reserves that may be obtained in the future by improved recovery methods now in operation or for which successful testing has been exhibited. Accumulated depreciation is a real account (a general ledger account that is not listed on the income statement). The balance rolls year-over-year, while nominal accounts like depreciation expense are closed out at year end.
In each accounting period, the depletion recognized is an estimate of the cost of the natural resource that was removed from its natural setting during the period. To record depletion, debit a Depletion account and credit an Accumulated Depletion account, which is a contra account to the natural resource asset account. Plant assets and natural resources are tangible assets used by a company to produce revenues. On the income statement, depreciation expense is recorded for plant assets and depletion expense is recorded for natural resources. On the balance sheet, accumulated depreciation appears with the related plant asset account and accumulated depletion appears with the related natural resource account.
Depletion: Definition, 4 Affecting Factors, and Depletion Methods
For example, imagine Company ABC buys a company vehicle for $10,000 with no salvage value at the end of its life. This article looks at meaning of and differences between two of these terms – depreciation and depletion. Analysts and investors in the energy sector should be aware of this expense the accumulated depletion account is and how it relates to cash flow and capital expenditure. The previous video gave us a demonstration of the accounting process for depletion but we will review it here. Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years.
Accumulated depreciation has a natural credit balance (as opposed to assets that have a natural debit balance). However, accumulated depreciation is reported within the asset section of a balance sheet. Depreciation is the periodic allocation of the cost of a tangible fixed asset over its useful life.
To calculate accumulated depletion, you need to determine the depletion rate per unit of the resource and multiply it by the number of units extracted during a specific accounting period. Depletion also lowers the cost value of an asset incrementally through scheduled charges to income. Where it differs is that it refers to the gradual exhaustion of natural resource reserves, as opposed to the wearing out of depreciable assets or the aging life of intangibles.
Definition of Depletion
Plant belongings and natural sources are tangible belongings used by a company to supply revenues. On the earnings assertion, depreciation expense is recorded for plant assets and depletion expense is recorded for pure assets. By crediting the Accumulated Depletion account instead of the asset account, we continue to report the original cost of the entire natural resource on the financial statements. To determine the total cost of the resource available, we combine this depletion cost with other extraction, mining, or removal costs.
Accumulated depletion increases over time as more of the resource is extracted, reflecting the reduction in the resource’s value. On the income statement, depreciation on the building appears as part of the cost of ore sold and is carried as part of inventory cost for ore not sold during the period. On the balance sheet, accumulated depreciation on the building appears with the related asset account. The cumulative amount of depletion expense pertaining to the natural resources shown on the balance sheet. The account has a credit balance and will be reported on the balance sheet as a contra asset. Those accounting methods include the straight-line method, the declining balance method, the double-declining balance method, the units of production method, or the sum-of-the-years method.
What is Accumulated Depletion?
Accumulated depreciation is nested under the long-term assets section of a balance sheet and reduces the net book value of a capital asset. Accumulated depreciation is the total amount an asset has been depreciated up until a single point. Each period, the depreciation expense recorded in that period is added to the beginning accumulated depreciation balance. An asset’s carrying value on the balance sheet is the difference between its historical cost and accumulated depreciation. At the end of an asset’s useful life, its carrying value on the balance sheet will match its salvage value. The depreciation is debited to the profit and loss account as an expense and accumulated depreciation is reported as reduction from the value of the fixed asset in the balance sheet.
The accumulated depletion is a contra account to the natural resource account (e.g. coal deposits account). On the other hand, depletion expense is an income statement item that represents the exhaustion of the natural resource. Depletion is the allocation of the cost of the natural resource to the unites extracted.
In its footnotes, the energy giant revealed that the slight DD&A expense increase was due to higher production levels for certain oil and gas producing fields. Depreciation applies to expenses incurred for the purchase of assets with useful lives greater than one year. A percentage of the purchase price is deducted over the course of the asset’s useful life.
In general, accumulated depreciation is calculated by taking the depreciable base of an asset and dividing it by a suitable divisor such as years of use or units of production. Unlike a normal asset account, a credit to a contra-asset account increases its value while a debit decreases its value. Cost depletion is calculated by taking the property’s basis, total recoverable reserves and number of units sold into account. As natural resources are extracted, they are counted and taken out from the property’s basis.