SLN Function in Excel: Straight-Line Depreciation

SLN Function in Excel: Straight-Line Depreciation featured illustration

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

FinancialLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. SLN in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions
  9. Continue learning

SLN returns equal depreciation for each period of an asset’s life.

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Syntax

=SLN(cost, salvage, life)
Argument What it means
salvage Value at the end of life.
life Number of periods.

Examples

Example 1

=SLN(500000, 25000, 5)

₹95,000 a year.

SLN in practice

Where you will use it

  • Straight-line depreciation per year
  • Fixed asset registers
  • Budgeting asset costs

Worked example

CostSalvageLifeFormulaResult
500000500005=SLN(A2,B2,C2)₹ 90,000.00
12000003=SLN(A3,B3,C3)₹ 40,000.00
80000800010=SLN(A4,B4,C4)₹ 7,200.00

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Monthly depreciationDivide the yearly result by 12
Companies Act ratesIndian WDV method needs DB or a custom formula

DB · DDB · SYD

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📎 Practice files for this article

  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Financial: EMI, SIP, NPV, IRR, depreciation23 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 35 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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