what is straight line amortization 
straight line amortization works just like its depreciation counterpart but instead of having the value of a physical asset decline amortization deals with intangible assets such as intellectual property or financial assets the bottom linecalculating the depreciating value of an asset over time can be tedious many accountants use a simple easy to use method called the straight line basis this method spreads out the depreciation equally over each accounting period to calculate using this method first subtract the salvage value from the original purchase price then divide that figure by the estimated useful life of the asset 