Short answers to the questions that come up first about a single asset. For the full picture, start with The asset page, and how to save a change.
Where this is in the app
Dashboard → open the return → Assets tab → open the asset
What does an asset actually need?
Six fields are marked required on the Add asset form: description, placed-in-service date, cost, property type, recovery period, and method. The last three arrive pre-filled, so in practice you supply the first three and check the rest. See Add an asset by hand.
Two property types need less. Pick Land — not depreciated or Intangible / Capitalized Cost and the recovery period, method, and convention controls leave the form, because those types have no MACRS schedule to describe.
Should I use Land, or the "This asset doesn't depreciate" checkbox?
Use Land — not depreciated for raw land. It is a property type, so the asset keeps its full cost as basis, computes $0 every year, stays off Form 4562, and when you sell it the disposal is routed to Form 4797 with no depreciation recapture. Nothing is left for you to switch off later.
Use the This asset doesn't depreciate checkbox for an asset that would normally depreciate but should not this year, such as one held for sale or idle. The checkbox suppresses the calculation for the year and asks for a reason; the asset keeps its recovery period and method, and unticking it puts the schedule back.
An asset that was imported as equipment but is really land can be changed to Land on this page: pick the property type and click Save & recalculate. See Add an asset by hand for what the form shows once Land is selected.
Why is there only one save button on the Tax tab?
Save & recalculate does both jobs. Your edits are written and the figures recomputed in the same action, so the fields and the numbers cannot disagree after a save.
The GAAP Book tab is separate and has its own Save GAAP book button.
Where is the save button?
At the bottom of the form, in a bar that stays on screen while you scroll, next to Cancel. If a save fails, the reason appears in the bar, right above the Save button.
My mid-life asset is depreciating on too much basis.
Its prior §179, bonus, and other figures are probably not recorded. Those three set the remaining MACRS basis. Fill in the Prior Depreciation Taken section and click Save & recalculate. See Record prior depreciation on an asset.
Why is prior depreciation split four ways?
Because §179, bonus, and other affect the remaining basis, and regular accumulated depreciation does not. Keeping them apart is what lets the remaining schedule be computed rather than estimated from a single total.
The first field, Regular Prior Depreciation, is regular depreciation only. It is not your total.
Can I enter an as-of date for prior depreciation?
Not on the tax side. The tax fields take amounts only, and the schedule works from the placed-in-service date. The GAAP book does have an As-of Date alongside its accumulated balance. See Bring accumulated book depreciation across from another system.
Does changing the book side affect tax?
No. The book reads the asset's original cost and, unless you override it with a book in-service date, its placed-in-service date. Nothing else crosses. See Book depreciation, and how it stays separate from tax.
Where do I set bonus depreciation for one asset?
You do not. Bonus is elected per recovery class on the return. The Elections section on the asset says so and links to the return. §179 is still per asset. See Where the elections live on an asset.
Why does my vehicle depreciate less than its cost suggests?
The §280F passenger-automobile limit is being applied. DepreciationPro applies it when the GVWR is 6,000 lb or less, and also when the GVWR is blank on an asset it has detected as a vehicle, until you confirm the weight.
What is the "Needs review" badge?
The badge means DepreciationPro found a detail it cannot settle from what is on file. Its tooltip says which kind. On a vehicle it is usually a missing weight or business-use percentage after an import, and the asset's figures are computed either way — open the asset and answer the questions in the amber panel. See Fill in vehicle details and clear the needs-review flag. On any asset it can also mean the recovery profile is incomplete or was changed, which is what an intangible saved without its recovery period in months, method and timing rule shows; that one has nothing to compute until you finish it. See Status, and the badges the grid shows.
Do category, activity, and state change my depreciation?
Federal depreciation, no. They change what your reports can break out. State allocation is the one with a further effect: it decides which states the asset's figures are prorated into for state adjustments.
Should I set activity here or on the grid?
On the grid, in bulk. Filter, select, and edit the selection in one pass. The asset page is for one asset. See Change a routing decision, or assign groups in bulk.
What is the lineage strip?
A link to the asset this one was split from or exchanged into, and back the other way. It appears at the top of the page only when the asset is part of a split or a replacement. See History, lineage, attachments, and notes on an asset.
Do attachments survive a rollover?
Yes. A year-end rollover copies them onto next year's asset.
A split does not. Attachments, notes, and annotations stay on the original record and are not copied to the pieces. See What carries over to each piece of a split.
Why does this asset show $0 with an amber banner?
An import left it without a cost or a date, so it is held out of the calculation. Enter what is missing and click Save & mark resolved on the banner.