Depreciation Methods

Wendy's boss wants to use straight$-$line depreciation for the new expansion project because he said it will give higher net income in earlier years and give him a larger bonus. The project will last $4$ years and requires $$1,680,000$ of equipment. The company could use either straight$-$line or the $3-$year MACRS accelerated method. Under straight$-$line depreciation, the cost of the equipment would be depreciated evenly over its $4-$year life. $($Ignore the half$-$year convention for the straight$-$line method.$)$ The applicable MACRS depreciation rates are $33\mathrm{.}33\%,44\mathrm{.}45\%,14\mathrm{.}81\%,$ and $7\mathrm{.}41\%.$ The project cost of capital is $9\%,$ and its tax rate is $25\%.$

a$.$ What would the depreciation expense be each year under each method? Enter your answers as positive values. Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to the nearest dollar.

b$.$ Which depreciation method would produce the higher NPV$,$ and how much higher would it be$?$ Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest cent.

The NPV under will be higher by $