Depreciation is a way of recognizing the cost of a purchased asset with a long useful life over the years that it is used for a business or rental property. From a business standpoint, it's better to deduct the depreciation as you use the asset each year, since it will reduce your taxable income from that activity.
Further, the IRS expects you to claim depreciation for that asset. If you don't, you will still need to account for the depreciation you didn't take when you eventually sell the asset. Depreciation reduces the asset's book value. When you sell the asset, the gain on the sale is the difference between the sales price and the book value of the asset. Since you have to account for depreciation when you sell the asset in the future, it makes sense to claim the benefit of the depreciation deduction each year that you use the asset.
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