A single asset's accumulated depreciation is the total amount of depreciation expense that

has been assigned to that asset since the asset was first put into service. It is a contra-asset

account, which means that it is a negative asset account that reduces the balance in the

asset account with which it is generally linked.

In contrast to a regular asset account, a credit to a contra-asset account raises the value of

the account, whilst a debit decreases the value of the account. Amounts recorded as

depreciation expense for an organization are also credited to the cumulative depreciation

account, allowing the corporation to report both asset cost and total depreciation expense

for the asset over the asset's useful life. In addition, the net book value of the asset is

shown on the balance sheet.