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Amortization of Financing, Costs

Amortization of Financing CostsWhen a new bond is issued, it comes with a stated coupon that shows the amount of interest bondholders will earn. For example, a bond with a par value of $1,000 and a coupon rate of 3% will pay annual interest of $30. If the prevailing interest rates drop to 2%, the bond value will rise, and the bond will trade at a premium. If interest rates rise to 4%, the value of the bond will drop, and the bond will trade at a discount. However, if interest rates begin to decline and similar bonds are now issued with a 4% coupon, the original bond has become more valuable.

Basic Principle of Amortization

Investors who want a higher coupon rate will have to pay extra for the bond in order to entice the original owner to sell. The increased price will bring the bond’s total yield down to 4% for new investors because they will have to pay an amount above par value to purchase the bond. Likewise, if interest rates soared to 15%, then an investor could make $150 from the government bond and would not pay $1,000 to earn just $100. This bond would be sold until it reached a price that equalized the yields, in this case to a price of $666.67. The price of a bond changes in response to changes in interest rates in the economy.” The value of the bond discount will be the difference between what the bonds’ face value and what the business received when it sold the bonds. If the market rate is less than the coupon rate, the bonds will probably be sold for an amount greater than the bonds’ value. The business will then need to record a “bond premium” for the difference between the amount of cash the business received and the bonds’ face value.

Issuance costs

The primary features of a bond are its coupon rate, face value, and market price. An issuer makes coupon payments to its bondholders as compensation for the money loaned over a fixed period of time. Bonds are sold at a discount when the market interest rate exceeds the coupon rate of the bond. To understand this concept, remember that a bond sold at par has a coupon rate equal to the market interest rate. When the interest rate increases past the coupon rate, bondholders now hold a bond with lower interest payments.Two features of a bond—credit quality and time to maturity—are the principal determinants of a bond’s coupon rate. If the issuer has a poor credit rating, the risk of default is greater, and these bonds pay more interest.

bond issue costs definition

To calculate the bond discount, the present value of the coupon payments and principal value must be determined. When companies or other entities need to raise money to finance new projects, maintain ongoing operations, or refinance existing debts, they may issue bonds directly to investors. The interest payment (the coupon) is part of the return that bondholders earn for loaning their funds to the issuer. The interest rate that determines the payment is called the coupon rate. A bond represents a promise by a borrower to pay a lender their principal and usually interest on a loan.

Example of Recording a Bond Issue

Is promotion cost a bond issue cost?

Bond Issue Costs include the professional fees and registration fees associated with the issuance of bonds. The amount in the account Bond Issue Costs will be amortized (systematically written off) to interest expense over the life of the bonds.The discount rate for both the principal and interest payment components is the market rate when the bond was issued. A bond sold at par has its coupon rate equal to the prevailing interest rate in the economy. An investor who purchases this bond has a return on investment that is determined by the periodic coupon payments.

Since these payments do not generate future benefits, they are treated as a contra debt account. The unamortized amounts are included in the long-term debt, as a reduction of the total debt (hence contra debt) in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Bonds typically pay interest semiannually at a fixed rate until the bonds mature many years into the future.

Are bond issue costs amortized?

Bond issue costs are the fees associated with the issuance of bonds by an issuer to investors. The accounting for these costs generally involves initially capitalizing them and then charging them to expense over the life of the bonds. Bond issue costs may include: Registration fees.Bond details include the end date when the principal of the loan is due to be paid to the bond owner and usually includes the terms for variable or fixed interest payments made by the borrower. Regardless of what the contract and market rates are, the business must always report a bond payable liability equal to the face value of the bonds issued. If the market rate is greater than the coupon rate, the bonds will probably be sold for an amount less than the bonds’ face value and the business will have to report a “bond discount.

Bond issue cost & deferred charges

An organization may incur a number of costs when it issues debt to investors. For example, when bonds are issued, the issuer will incur accounting, legal, and underwriting costs to do so. The proper accounting for these debt issuance costs is to initially recognize them as an asset, and then charge them to expense over the life of the bonds. The theory behind this treatment is that the issuance costs created a funding benefit for the issuer that will last for a number of years, so the expense should be recognized over that period.A bond issued at a discount has its market price below the face value, creating a capital appreciation upon maturity since the higher face value is paid when the bond matures. The bond discount is the difference by which a bond’s market price is lower than its face value. For example, a bond with a par value of $1,000 that is trading at $980 has a bond discount of $20. The bond discount is also used in reference to the bond discount rate, which is the interest used to price bonds via present valuation calculations.The interest rate (coupon rate), principal amount and maturities will vary from one bond to the next in order to meet the goals of the bond issuer (borrower) and the bond buyer (lender). Most bonds issued by companies include options that can increase or decrease their value and can make comparisons difficult for non-professionals. Bonds can be bought or sold before they mature, and many are publicly listed and can be traded with a broker. If the market and coupon rates differ, the issuing company must calculate the present value of the bond to determine what price to charge when it sells the security on the open market. The present value of a bond is composed of two components; the principal and the interest payments.

What is Debt Issuance?

If the bonds’ interest rate is less than the market rates when the bonds are offered, the bonds will sell at a discount. If the bonds’ interest rate is greater than the market rate when the bonds are offered, the bonds will sell at a premium.

Example of Amortizing Loan Costs

These existing bonds reduce in value to reflect the fact that newer issues in the markets have more attractive rates. If the bond’s value falls below par, investors are more likely to purchase it since they will be repaid the par value at maturity.

A premium bond is one in which the market price of the bond is higher than the face value. If the bond’s stated interest rate is greater than those expected by the current bond market, this bond will be an attractive option for investors.Bonds that have a very long maturity date also usually pay a higher interest rate. This higher compensation is because the bondholder is more exposed to interest rate and inflation risks for an extended period. A bond is a fixed income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental). A bond could be thought of as an I.O.U. between the lender and borrower that includes the details of the loan and its payments. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states, and sovereign governments to finance projects and operations.