I bought land in 1982 for $1,200,000. In 2004 the land was appraised at $ 1,795,000. The land would appear on the books in 2004 at??

Would it be the Appraised amount – the purchase amount?
1,795,000-1,2000,000 = $595,000

OR
Would it just be the Appraised amount??
Which is 1,795,000

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rennie

the land was appraised at $ 1,795,000.

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I think you have your answer, already.

You keep the land on the book for what you paid for it... therefore it should remain at its 1982 purchase price of 1,200,000

the land should be valued at its appraised value to update its present book value. It is the only property that doesn't depreciate but rather appreciate.

Under GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles,) in most cases the land should be booked at historical cost. The only exception that I'm aware of is for personal financial statements. On these statements you can use the actual (appraised) value. On the books of any other entity the land should be at cost.