Depreciation Recapture

What Does it Mean?
The amount of gain received from the sale of depreciable capital property that must be reported as income. Depreciation Recapture is assessed when the tax basis of an asset exceeds the sale price. The difference between these figures is thus "recaptured" by being reported as income.
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Investopedia Says...
When property is depreciated, the basis of the property is reduced by the amount of depreciation taken. If the sale price is larger than amount of depreciation that has been taken, then the difference will be reported as either ordinary income or capital gain, depending on the type of property that is sold.

For example, suppose that Frank buys business equipment for $10,000 and uses it for eight years. The total depreciation deduction is $6,000. Then he sells the equipment for $6,000. He must declare a "recaptured" gain of $2,000, the difference between the actual sales price and the depreciated tax basis of $4,000 ($10,000-$6,000).