Book vs tax depreciation for GPUs and servers
Financial statements spread a GPU server over the useful life the company estimates. The tax return uses MACRS, where computers are 5-year property. General information, not tax advice. Talk to your tax advisor about your situation.
Two schedules for one server
| Book (financial statements) | Tax (federal return) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the life | The company, as an estimate | The statute: 5 years for computers |
| Method | Usually straight line | 200% declining balance (MACRS) |
| First year | Company policy | Half-year or mid-quarter convention |
| Salvage value | May be estimated and excluded | Not used |
| First-year extras | None | Bonus depreciation, section 179 |
| Where it shows | 10-K and 20-F notes | Form 4562; Schedule M-3 reconciles |
Publication 946; Schedule M-3 instructions, Part III, line 31. Corporations with $10 million or more of assets reconcile book and tax income on Schedule M-3.
Useful lives in public filings
The 21 public companies in our useful-life tracker state server lives of two to seven years. Six of them:
| Company | Stated life | Filing |
|---|---|---|
| CoreWeave | 6 years | Form 10-K for 2025 |
| Microsoft | 6 years | Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 |
| Alphabet | 6 years | Form 10-K for 2025 |
| Oracle | 6 years | Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 |
| Meta | 5.5 years | Form 10-K for 2025 |
| Amazon | 5 to 6 years | Form 10-K for 2025 |
Book lives only. None of them changes the tax recovery period, which the statute sets by class.
Share of cost recovered
| End of year | Book, 6-year straight line | MACRS 5-year | 100% bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16.7% | 20.0% | 100.0% |
| 2 | 33.3% | 52.0% | 100.0% |
| 3 | 50.0% | 71.2% | 100.0% |
| 4 | 66.7% | 82.7% | 100.0% |
| 5 | 83.3% | 94.2% | 100.0% |
| 6 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Book: straight line, no salvage value, full first year, for illustration. Tax: Publication 946, Table A-1; the MACRS calculator runs it for your servers.
Why the difference matters
For owners, the tax schedule sets the basis. The basis sets the gain when the servers are sold (depreciation recapture).
For lenders and investors, neither is a market value. A longer book life lowers reported depreciation expense without changing what the hardware is worth. What used servers sell for is a third number: see the GPU resale value calculator. The tax rules are in MACRS for computers and the other accelerated depreciation guides.
Planning to buy GPU servers?
- A call with our CTO about what you need
- Ballpark costs and timelines for your budget
- A straight answer if it’s not a fit
Prefer email? hello@amcompute.com