Depreciation expense is an estimated allocation of the cost of long-term assets and is recorded in a contra-asset called accumulated depreciation.

Depreciation Expense

Depreciation Expense represents the systematic allocation of the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life, reflecting its wear and tear or obsolescence.

Contra-Asset

A contra-asset account is an asset account where the balance of the account is either zero or a credit balance, used to reduce the value of the related asset, such as accumulated depreciation for fixed assets.

Accumulated Depreciation

The total amount of a company's asset that has been expensed for depreciation to date.