Under the effective interest rate method, interest expense = book value of the bond liability at the beginning of the period x market interest rate at issuance. The interest expense includes amortization of any discount or premium at issuance.
Premium bond:
Discount bond:
A firm issues $1 million bonds with a 5% coupon rate, 5-year maturity, and annual interest payments when market interest rates are 6%. Calculate the discount amortized in the first year.
Solution:
Since coupon rate < market rate, the bonds will be issued at a discount. Discounting the future payment to their present value indicates that at issuance the company will record an initial book value of $957,876.36.
The interest expense in the first year = Market interest rate at issuance x book value = 957,876.36 x 6% = $57,472.58
Discount amortized in first year = Interest expense – Coupon payment = $57,472.58 – $50,000 = $7,472.58
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