The preferred method for amortizing the bond discount is the effective interest rate method or the effective interest method. Under the effective interest rate method the amount of interest expense in a given accounting period will correlate with the amount of a bond’s book value at the beginning of the accounting period. This means that as a bond’s book value increases, the amount of interest expense will increase. When a bond is sold at a discount, the amount of the bond discount must be amortized to interest expense over the life of the bond.

Investors are not interested in bonds bearing a contract rate less than the market rate unless the price is reduced. Selling bonds at a premium or a discount allows the purchasers of the bonds to earn the market rate of interest on their investment. Now let us suppose ABC company issues a bond at a par value of $ 100,000 and a coupon rate of 6% with 5 years maturity.

The accounting profession prefers the effective interest rate method, but allows the straight-line method when the amount of bond discount is not significant. A mortgage calculator provides monthly payment
estimates for a long-term loan like a mortgage. Mortgages are long-term liabilities that are used to finance real
estate purchases. We tend to think of them as home loans, but they
can also be used for commercial real estate purchases. Under both IFRS and US GAAP, the general definition of a
long-term liability is similar.

Interest Payment: Issued When Market Rate Equals Contract

The bondholders have
bonds that say the issuer will pay them $100,000, so that is all
that is owed at maturity. The premium will disappear over time and
will reduce the amount of interest incurred. First, we will explore the case when the stated interest rate is
equal to the market interest rate when the bonds are issued. The periodic amortization of bond issuance costs is recorded as a debit to financing expenses and a credit to the other assets account.

• The following T-account shows how the balance in the account Premium on Bonds Payable will decrease over the 5-year life of the bonds under the straight-line method of amortization.
• Bonds issue at par value mean that the issuer sell bonds to investors at par value.
• The entry for interest payments is a debit to interest expense and a credit to cash.
• The periodic interest payments to the buyer (investor) will be the same over the course of the bond.
• If the investors are willing to accept the 9% interest rate, the bond will sell for its face value.
• Another way to illustrate this problem is to note that total borrowing cost is reduced by the $8,530 premium, since less is to be repaid at maturity than was borrowed up front.

Additionally, since there is no guarantee of repayment, investors may be less likely to lend money in this way. It gives businesses access to larger amounts of money than they can acquire through traditional financing methods. The amortization table for the interest payment and bond values will be as below. Yes, private companies can issue bonds as financing, but there are certain restrictions regarding who can buy them.

When you issue bonds, you will need to record the information in your financial records to follow and track your debt payments accurately. Here’s what you need to know about recording journal entries for bond issuances. The journal entry for the amortization of a bond premium is similar to the amortization of other types of debt instruments, such as mortgage loans. The journal entry will also include a debit to the interest expense account and a credit to the bond premium amortization account. This entry records the amortization of the bond premium over the life of the debt instrument. Even bonds are issued at a premium or discounted, we need to calculate the carrying value and compare with the cash payment to calculate the gain or lose.

Benefits of Issuing Bonds

There are other possibilities that can be much more complicated and beyond the scope of this course. For example, a bond might be callable by the issuing company, in which the company may pay a call premium paid to the current owner of the bond. Also, a bond might be called while there is still a premium or discount on the bond, and that can complicate the retirement process. When bonds are issued and sold at a premium, the interest expense will need to be calculated and recorded based on either the straight-line method or effective interest method. When a company issues bonds and sells at the price higher than the market rate, it is called premium bonds. This means that the issued price is higher than the par value of the bonds.

For example, if you or your family have ever borrowed money from a bank for a car or home, the payments are typically the same each month. The interest payments will be the same because of the rate stipulated in the bond indenture, regardless of what the market rate does. The amount of interest cost that we will recognize in the journal entries, however, will change over the course of the bond term, assuming that we are using the effective interest. In accounting, it is very important to recognize both elements into the financial statement. The financial liability will initially measure by using discounted cash flow of interest payment and bonds nominal value.

Debit vs. Credit: What You Need to Know About Accounting Terms

Because five months have passed since the previous interest date (May 1), interest accrued on the bond as of the issuance date is $400,000 × 6 percent × 5/12 year or $10,000. The creditors pay $400,000 for the bond and an additional $10,000 for the accrued interest to that date. Once again, the actual recording can be made in more than one way but the following seems easiest. The first semiannual interest payment will be made on November 1, Year One. Because the 6 percent interest rate stated in the contract is for a full year, it must be halved to calculate the payment that covers the six-month intervals. Each of these cash disbursements is for $12,000 which is the $400,000 face value × the 6 percent annual stated interest rate × 1/2 year.

Summary of the Effect of Market Interest Rates on a Bond’s Issue Price

The interest expense is calculated by taking the Carrying Value
($91,800) multiplied by the market interest rate (7%). The amount
of the cash payment in this example is calculated by taking the
face value of the bond ($100,000) and multiplying it by the stated
rate (5%). Since the market rate and the stated rate are different,
we need to account for the difference between the amount of
interest expense and the cash paid to bondholders. The amount of
the discount amortization is simply the difference between the
interest expense and the cash payment. Since we originally debited
Bond Discount when the bonds were issued, we need to credit the
account each time the interest is paid to bondholders because the
carrying value of the bond has changed.

Thus, Schultz will repay $31,470 more than was borrowed ($140,000 – $108,530). (Figure)Huang Inc. issued 100 bonds with a face value of $1,000 and a 5-year term at $960 each. (Figure)Keys Inc. issued 100 bonds with a face value of $1,000 and a rate of 8% at $1,025 each. (Figure)Naval Inc. issued $200,000 face value bonds at a discount and received $190,000.

By the end of the 5th year, the bond premium will be zero, and
the company will only owe the Bonds Payable amount of $100,000. As a result, interest expense each year is not exactly equal to the effective rate of interest (6%) that was implicit in the pricing of the bonds. For 20X1, interest expense can be seen to be roughly 5.8% of the bond liability ($6,294 expense divided by beginning of year liability of $108,530). For 20X4, interest expense is roughly 6.1% ($6,294 expense divided by beginning of year liability of $103,412).

This entry records the $5,000 received for the accrued interest as a debit to Cash and a credit to Bond Interest Payable. In exchange, the investor receives interest payments and their original principal amount back when the bond matures. When huge investors decide to convert in the same time, it will impact to market share, the share pirce will decrease. The company require to pay annual interest to investors, these are the deductible expense and will save on tax at the end of the year. The journal entries for the years 2023 through 2026 will be similar if all of the bonds remain outstanding.

When the situation changes and the
bond is sold at a discount or premium, it is easy to get confused
and incorrectly use the market rate here. Since the market rate and
the stated rate are the same in this example, we do not have to
worry about any differences between the amount of interest expense
and the cash paid check the status of your refund to bondholders. This journal entry will be made
every year for the 5-year life of the bond. The interest expense is calculated by taking the Carrying Value ($100,000) multiplied by the market interest rate (5%). The company is obligated by the bond indenture to pay 5% per year based on the face value of the bond.

The total premium on bonds payable at the maturity date as a result of the journal entry for each periodic payment above will be zero. The total discount on bonds payable at the maturity date as a result of the journal entry for each periodic payment above will be zero. Thus, the amortization of bond discount for each period is $5,736 ($57,360/10). When a company issues bonds, they make a promise to pay interest
annually or sometimes more often. If the interest is paid annually,
the journal entry is made on the last day of the bond’s year. On the date that the bonds were issued, the company received
cash of $104,460.00 but agreed to pay $100,000.00 in the future for
100 bonds with a $1,000 face value.

The bond types vary by features carried by the bond such as the interest rate, frequency of coupon payments, maturity date, attached warrants, and so on. Bonds are typically issued when companies require funding for long-term projects. Thus, at the end of December 31, 2039, ABC Co will fully pay all the principal and interest of the bonds. The bonds payable will be removed from the Balance Sheet of the company. Before jumping to detail, let’s understand the basic concept of the bond. The bondholders have the right to receive interest as stated on the bond certificate as well as the principal at the maturity date.