Decide which of the two dividing screens to open before you start entering figures.
Where this is in the app
Split asset: Dashboard → open the return → Assets tab → open the asset → Split asset
Partial disposal: Dashboard → open the return → Assets tab → open the asset → Dispose → Dispose part of this asset
Two features divide one asset into parts. Split asset and Dispose part of this asset. Your firm's judgement determines which is right for the situation.
For the steps on the disposal side, see Dispose part of an asset.
You do not split first
The most common question is whether to split an asset before disposing of part of it. You do not. Dispose part of this asset runs the split and the disposal together behind one confirmation.
Reach for Split asset on its own when you want the pieces to stay in the register.
What each one produces
Split asset | Dispose part of this asset | |
Where it starts | Split asset button in the asset page header | Dispose button in the asset page header, then Dispose part of this asset |
What you get | Two or more assets, all still depreciating | A retained asset, plus a carved-off asset that is marked disposed |
Extra output | None | A disposal calculation with gain or loss |
Reversing it | Undo split on the original asset | Undo disposal on the disposal page |
What the two screens share
Both measure the portion the same three ways, Percentage, Dollar amount, and Units. Both run the same allocation engine, so the figures you see previewed are the figures that get written.
Both use the same eligibility rules. An asset that cannot be split cannot be partially disposed either, and the disposal page lists the same reasons. See When an asset cannot be split.
What only the disposal screen offers
Partial mode adds a checkbox to record a partial disposition election under §1.168(i)-8, with a dropdown for the method behind the figure you enter: PPI-discounted replacement cost, pro-rata, cost segregation study, or other. There is no equivalent on the split screen.
Reversing them is not symmetrical
Undo split restores the original asset and removes the pieces, but only while every piece is untouched. See Undo a split.
Undo disposal clears the disposal from the carved-off asset. It does not merge that asset back into the one it came from. The two records remain separate.
The two interact in one direction only, and it is worth knowing before you start. Once you have disposed of a piece of a split, that split can never be undone, and reversing the disposal does not bring the option back.