double-declining-balance method of depreciation investment & finance definition

An accelerated depreciation method that assumes that the most useful life of an asset is its early years. Thus, it takes a larger than normal amount of depreciation expense in the first years of an asset’s life. The double-declining-balance method is calculated by doubling the annual depreciation expense that would be calculated by the straight-line depreciation method, which spreads the depreciable cost of the asset evenly over the estimated useful life of the asset.