Financial Information
6. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
The following table shows the composition of our property and equipment balances at year-end 2012 and 2011:
The following table shows the composition of these property and equipment balances that we recorded as capital leases:
We record property and equipment at cost, including interest and real estate taxes we incur during development and construction. Interest we capitalized as a cost of property and equipment totaled $27 million in 2012, $12 million in 2011, and $10 million in 2010. We capitalize the cost of improvements that extend the useful life of property and equipment when we incur them. These capitalized costs may include structural costs, equipment, fixtures, floor, and wall coverings. We expense all repair and maintenance costs when we incur them. We compute depreciation using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets (three to 40 years), and we amortize leasehold improvements over the shorter of the asset life or lease term. Our depreciation expense totaled $93 million in 2012, $127 million in 2011, and $138 million in 2010, and included amortization of assets recorded under capital leases.
In 2010, we determined that we would not be able to fully recover the carrying amount of a capitalized software asset from an existing group of property owners. Under the guidance for the impairment of long-lived assets, we evaluated the asset for recovery and as a result of a negotiated agreement with the property owners, we recorded an impairment charge of $84 million in 2010 to adjust the carrying value of the asset to our estimate of its fair value. We estimated that fair value using an income approach reflecting internally developed Level 3 discounted cash flows that included, among other things, our expectations of future cash flows based on historical experience and projected growth rates, usage estimates and demand trends. We reflected the impairment charge in the general, administrative, and other expense line in our Income Statement. We did not allocate that charge to any of our segments.
In 2010, we decided to pursue the disposition of a golf course and related assets in our former Timeshare segment. Under the guidance for the impairment of long-lived assets, we evaluated the property and related assets for recovery and we recorded an impairment charge of $13 million in 2010 to adjust the carrying value of the assets to our estimate of its fair value. We estimated that fair value using an income approach reflecting internally developed Level 3 discounted cash flows based on negotiations with a qualified prospective third-party purchaser of the asset. We reflected the impairment charge in the general, administrative, and other expense line in our Income Statement, and we allocated the charge to our former Timeshare segment.
In 2010, we decided to pursue the disposition of a land parcel. Under the guidance for the impairment of long-lived assets, we evaluated the property for recovery and we recorded an impairment charge of $14 million in 2010 to adjust the carrying value of the property to our estimate of fair value. We estimated that fair value using an income approach reflecting internally developed Level 3 cash flows that included, among other things, our expectations about the eventual disposition of the property based on discussions with potential third-party purchasers. We reflected the impairment charge in the general, administrative, and other expense line in our Income Statement, and we allocated that charge to our North American Limited-Service segment.
Please see Footnote No. 16, “Spin-off” for additional information on the $68 million property and equipment impairment charge we recorded in 2011 as part of the Timeshare strategy-impairment charges.