What-is-Amortization-of-Bond-Issue-Costs

What is Amortization of Bond Issue Costs?

How to calculate the amortization of bond issue costs? Bond issue costs include underwriting and legal fees, commissions, printing and promotion costs, and registration fees. Because these are deferred charges, they are amortized using the straight-line method, starting with the date the bonds are sold. However, this date can be earlier than the actual issue date. This way, you will be able to keep track of the entire amount that you owe over a longer period of time.

Term debt

Amortization of bond issue costs is the process of charging the costs of an intangible asset to the income statement over its useful life. It applies to debt instruments issued after December 31, 2003. It is a process that accounts for the cost of the original loan by deferring the costs to the future period of repayment of the debt. Amortization of bond issue costs is important for accounting purposes. The process of amortization should be done in a systematic manner.

Callable debt

The cost of issuing a bond is amortized over the life of the bond, which is typically 20 years. To compute the amortization, divide the total cost by the number of years until the date of maturity. In addition to interest and issuance costs, a company also incurs professional fees, registration fees, and other costs. These costs are a deferred charge and amortization of bond issue costs must be performed to fully write off this asset.

Discounts

If the debt liability is a large one, the cost of issuing the bond will be accounted for as a discount in the amortization of debt issuance costs. These costs include commissions, engraving, legal fees, and accounting fees. Generally, these costs are deducted from the principal balance and are amortized over the life of the bond. For example, if the bond issuer issuing a $100 million bond, it will expense the first $5 million of this cost when it sells the remaining $90 million of bonds.

Premiums

When companies raise debt through a bond issue, they must account for the costs of issuing the bond. These costs are capitalized and carried as a non-current asset, or “other asset,” and are debited against debt issue costs and credited against cash. However, because these costs cannot be offset all at once, they are amortized over the life of the bond. To account for these costs, companies use the straight-line method, which involves dividing the cost by the number of years until the bond matures. They then debit debt issue costs each year until the entire bond is retired.

Straight-line method

The straight-line method of amortization of bond issue cost consists of calculating the total interest payments and the discount paid on the bonds in equal amounts over the entire life of the bond. For example, if the coupon rate on a bond is less than the market interest rate, then the bond issue price is higher than its face value. In this case, the face value is equal to the issue price only once the market interest rate matches the coupon rate.

Covenants

A company that issues bonds must include issuance costs as a direct deduction from the value of the debt on its balance sheet, a requirement mandated by ASU No. 2015 – 03, to avoid a covenant violation. A company that borrows $22 million in the following year would not violate a covenant if it did not increase its EBITDA by the same amount. As a result, it will be able to show that its debt is less than $120 million if it borrows $22 million more in that year.

Amortization

Amortization of bond issue costs relates to the systematic allocation of these costs over the life of the bonds. The costs associated with bond issues include legal fees, underwriting fees, accounting fees, printing and promotion expenses, and registration fees. In U.S. GAAP, these costs are recorded as deferred charges, which are amortized over 120 months. In other words, if a corporation issued a bond worth $24,000 on the date of issue, the cost is accounted for in the same way.

In conclusion, the amortization of bond issue costs is an important part of the financial planning process for any organization. By understanding the various methods of amortizing these costs, organizations can make more informed decisions about how to finance their operations. Additionally, by taking into account the potential tax benefits of issuing bonds, organizations can save money on their overall tax bill.

Finally, it is important to remember that the amortization of bond issue costs is just one part of the financial planning process.

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