AMORTIZE verb definition and synonyms

Amortization tables help you understand how a loan works, and they can help you predict your outstanding balance or interest cost at any point in the future. First, amortization is used in the process of paying off debt through regular principal and interest payments over time. An amortization schedule is used to reduce the current balance on a loan—for example, a mortgage or a car loan—through installment payments.

For example, if you stretch out the repayment time, you’ll pay more in interest than you would for a shorter repayment term. These are often five-year (or shorter) amortized loans that you pay down with a fixed monthly payment. Longer loans are available, but you’ll spend more on interest and risk being upside down on your loan, meaning your loan exceeds your car’s resale value if you stretch things out too long to get a lower payment. Amortization also refers to the repayment of a loan principal over the loan period.

More from Merriam-Webster on amortize

This has the effect of reducing the stated income of the business which reduces its tax obligations. We record the amortization of intangible assets in the financial statements of a company as an expense. When fixed/tangible assets (machinery, land, buildings) are purchased and used, they decrease in value over time.

Use amortization to match an asset’s expense to the amount of revenue it generates each year. Amortizing lets you write off the cost of an item over the duration of the asset’s estimated useful life. If an intangible asset has an indefinite lifespan, it cannot be amortized (e.g., goodwill). The main drawback of amortized loans is that relatively little principal https://www.bookstime.com/articles/amortization is paid off in the early stages of the loan, with most of each payment going toward interest. This means that for a mortgage, for example, very little equity is being built up early on, which is unhelpful if you want to sell a home after just a few years. Amortization schedules can be customized based on your loan and your personal circumstances.

AccountingTools

In accounting, the amortization of intangible assets refers to distributing the cost of an intangible asset over time. You pay installments using a fixed amortization schedule throughout a designated period. And, you record the portions of the cost as amortization expenses in your books. Amortization reduces your taxable income throughout an asset’s lifespan.

• Amortization schedules can be customized based on your loan and your personal circumstances.
• The amortization of a loan is the process to pay back, in full, over time the outstanding balance.
• In this case, amortization means dividing the loan amount into payments until it is paid off.
• For intangible assets, knowing the exact starting cost isn’t always easy.
• In this sense, the term reflects the asset’s consumption and subsequent decline in value over time.

Thus, it writes off the expense incrementally over the useful life of that asset. Such usage of the term relates to debt or loans, but it is also used in the process of periodically lowering the value of intangible assets much like the concept of depreciation. Record amortization expenses on the income statement under a line item called “depreciation and amortization.” Debit the amortization expense to increase the asset account and reduce revenue. A 30-year amortization schedule breaks down how much of a level payment on a loan goes toward either principal or interest over the course of 360 months (for example, on a 30-year mortgage). Early in the life of the loan, most of the monthly payment goes toward interest, while toward the end it is mostly made up of principal.

Synonyms of the month

Negative amortization can occur if the payments fail to match the interest. In this case, the lender then adds outstanding interest to the total loan balance. As a consequence of adding interest, the total loan amount becomes larger than what it was originally. We use amortization tables to represent the composition of periodic payments between interest charges and principal repayments.

• The table below is known as an “amortization table” (or “amortization schedule”).
• However, there is a key difference in amortization vs. depreciation.
• Don’t assume all loan details are included in a standard amortization schedule.

Another difference is the accounting treatment in which different assets are reduced on the balance sheet. Amortizing an intangible asset is performed by directly crediting (reducing) that specific asset account. Alternatively, depreciation is recorded by crediting an account called accumulated depreciation, a contra asset account. The historical cost of fixed assets remains on a company’s books; however, the company also reports this contra asset amount as a net reduced book value amount. Second, amortization can also refer to the practice of spreading out capital expenses related to intangible assets over a specific duration—usually over the asset’s useful life—for accounting and tax purposes. Sometimes it’s helpful to see the numbers instead of reading about the process.

Examples of amortized

A loan is amortized by determining the monthly payment due over the term of the loan. Next, you prepare an amortization schedule that clearly identifies what portion of each month’s payment is attributable towards interest and what portion of each month’s payment is attributable towards principal. For example, a company benefits from the use of a long-term asset over a number of years.

Multiply the current loan value by the period interest rate to get the interest. Then subtract the interest from the payment value to get the principal. Once a debt is amortized by equal payments at equal intervals, the debt becomes an annuity’s discounted value. Patriot’s online accounting software is easy-to-use and made for small business owners and their accountants.

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Other countries have also shown interest in it as a means of encouraging industrial development, but the current revenue lost by the government is a more serious consideration for them. Assume that you have a ten-year loan of $10,000 that you pay back monthly. Also, assume that the annual percentage interest rate on this loan is 5%.

Amortization is an accounting technique used to periodically lower the book value of a loan or an intangible asset over a set period of time. Concerning a loan, amortization focuses on spreading out loan payments https://www.bookstime.com/ over time. When applied to an asset, amortization is similar to depreciation. The advantage of accelerated amortization for tax purposes lies in the deferment of taxes rather than in their reduction.