[ok_dad]

They used the machine here, and depreciation rules mean you can do that, but most companies will still try and keep using a machine until it’s no longer working for that process, whether or not it was depreciated fully. Also, I expect there are different time windows for dormant equipment depreciation and while laptops might depreciate in five years I doubt industrial equipment does at the same rate.

[travisjungroth]

The motivation to stop using the machine wouldn’t be deprecation but just some external business reason. You can also change the deprecation schedule and the numbers, the idea is the same.

The overall point is I don’t think it’s rare to destroy an asset that you could sell, and to take a deduction for that. Comments were calling that fraud.