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Accelerated Depreciation refers to a method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life at a faster rate than traditional straight-line depreciation.

Under this approach, larger deductions are taken in the early years of an asset’s life, decreasing over time. This is beneficial for businesses as it can lead to reduced taxable income in the initial years of an asset’s use, thus improving cash flow.

Common methods of accelerated depreciation include the Double Declining Balance method and the Sum-of-the-Years’ Digits method. For example, if a company buys machinery for $10,000 with a useful life of 5 years, using the Double Declining Balance method would allow it to deduct a larger portion of the cost in the first year compared to the straight-line method, where the deduction would be equal each year.

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