Selling a fully depreciated business asset

danielle-51 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:32:13 GMT

We have a piece of equipment in our shop that is around 18 years old. Is the cost basis zero since it is fully depreciated? or is the cost basis what we originally paid for it? I don't think we will be selling it for more than what we paid for it, so if there is no "gain" will we still have to report the sale as income? or will there be a way to report it in Turbo Tax where it will automatically be recorded correctly?

Re: Selling a fully depreciated business asset

PatriciaV — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 13:40:35 GMT

Yes, you need to report the sale of your business asset. If it's fully depreciated, then your basis is zero and the entire sale amount (less sales expenses) will be your taxable gain. This is reported under the Sale of Business Assets section of TurboTax.

The easiest way to find any section of TurboTax is to open your return and use the Search box at the top right side of the TurboTax header. Click on the magnifying glass, type in the topic you need, hit Enter, and click the "jump to" link to go directly to beginning of that topic.

Or go to the left column in TurboTax Online and click on Tax Tools >> Tools >> Topic Search. Type in your topic, then click the topic in the list to go directly to the start of that section.

topic Selling a fully depreciated business asset in Deductions & credits

Selling a fully depreciated business asset

Re: Selling a fully depreciated business asset