When calculating Salvadoran taxable income, assets owned by an enterprise are normally depreciated over their normal useful using the straight-line method. Assets with a useful life of a year or less can be fully written off in the year of acquisition.
The applicable rates for various assets types are as follows
| Buildings | 5% |
| Machinery | 20% |
| Vehicles | 25% |
| Other movable property | 50% |
Used Machinery and Movable Property
When depreciating used machinery and other movable property, only a portion of the cost of the asset is depreciable for tax deductions purposes. The tax deductible portion is based on the useful life of the asset at the following percentages:
| 1 year but less than 2 | 80% |
| 2 years but less than 3 | 60% |
| 3 years but less than 4 | 40% |
| 4 or more years | 20% |
Intangible Assets
Aside from software, intangibles assets such as goodwill, trademarks, copyrights, etc. may not be amortized for tax purposes.
For new software, the maximum amortization rate is 25% of the acquisition or development cost. Note, that the depreciable portion rules for used machinery also applies to used software.