Capital asset

In accounting, a capital asset is an asset that is recorded as capital - that is, property that creates more property, e.g. a factory that creates shoes, or a forest that yields a quantity of wood.

Tax Accounting Treatment
The treatment of different types or kinds of capital asset varies very widely by jurisdiction. The GAAP only require that capital assets be treated differently from operating expenses, as the latter yield all their benefits immediately.
In most countries a capital cost deduction applies to require or allow a purchaser to write off the cost of acquiring the asset over time. Rather than writing off the entire cost of acquisition in one year, it is written off over multiple years to reflect the fact that it is used in each year to do things and wears down or is used up or obsoleted to some degree. The period of time over which this occurs can range typically from 2 years for software to 30 years for buildings.