Answer: The depreciation expense that will be recorded for the furniture for the year ended, December 31 is $1,365.
Explanation: The formula for straight-line depreciation method is given below:
(Historical cost minus salvage value) / No of years
If you put in the information in the question into the formula, you have:
($31,000 - $3,700) / 5 years = $5,460 yearly depreciation
We need to get the depreciation expense as at December 31. This means the yearly depreciation above has to be pro rated for 3 months, as follows:
$5,460 x 3/12 = $1,365.
Entries to be recorded would be Debit Depreciation expense $1,365; Credit Accumulated depreciation $1,365. In most cases, organizations record depreciation expense on a monthly basis.