how does depreciation differ from amortization 
depreciation refers only to physical assets or property amortization essentially depreciates intangible assets such as intellectual property like trademarks or patents over time the bottom linedepreciation allows businesses to spread the cost of physical assets over a period of time which can have advantages from both an accounting and tax perspective businesses also have a variety of depreciation methods to choose from allowing them to pick the one that works best for their purposes 