Interest
Overview
ASC 835 comprises three Subtopics, below is an overview of each Subtopic.
835-10 Overall
ASC 835-10 notes that ASC 835 provides guidance for interest income or expense recognition for capitalization of interest and imputation of interest. This subtopic also provides links to guidance on the recognition of interest income and interest expense for specific transactions and specific instrument types.
835-20 Capitalization of Interest
ASC 835-20 notes the following:
This Subtopic establishes standards of financial accounting and reporting for capitalizing interest cost as a part of the historical cost of acquiring certain assets. The historical cost of acquiring an asset includes the costs necessarily incurred to bring it to the condition and location necessary for its intended use. If an asset requires a period of time in which to carry out the activities necessary to bring it to that condition and location, the interest cost incurred during that period as a result of expenditures for the asset is a part of the historical cost of acquiring the asset.
835-30 Imputation of Interest
ASC 835-30 notes the following:
Business transactions often involve the exchange of cash or property, goods, or service for a note or similar instrument. When a note is exchanged for property, goods, or service in a bargained transaction entered into at arm’s length, there should be a general presumption that the rate of interest stipulated by the parties to the transaction represents fair and adequate compensation to the supplier for the use of the related funds. That presumption, however, must not permit the form of the transaction to prevail over its economic substance and thus would not apply if interest is not stated, the stated interest rate is unreasonable, or the stated face amount of the note is materially different from the current cash sales price for the same or similar items or from the fair value of the note at the date of the transaction. The use of an interest rate that varies from prevailing interest rates warrants evaluation of whether the face amount and the stated interest rate of a note or obligation provide reliable evidence for properly recording the exchange and subsequent related interest.
This Subtopic provides guidance for the appropriate accounting when the face amount of a note does not reasonably represent the present value of the consideration given or received in the exchange. This circumstance may arise if the note is non-interest-bearing or has a stated interest rate that is different from the rate of interest appropriate for the debt at the date of the transaction.