Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years. If interest income and expense are combined, the line item can be called “Interest Income – net” or “Interest Expense – net.” The former is used if there’s more interest income than expense. Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. A double entry system provides better accuracy (by detecting errors more quickly) and is more effective in preventing fraud or mismanagement of funds. Upgrading to a paid membership gives you access to our extensive collection of plug-and-play Templates designed to power your performance—as well as CFI’s full course catalog and accredited Certification Programs.

A business’s cost to continue operating and turning a profit is known as an expense. Some of these expenses may be written off on a tax return if they meet Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines. The capital structure of a company speaks a lot about the financial position and future prospects of growth.

Examples of Interest Expense and Interest Payable

Only the interest portion of a loan payment will appear on your income statement as an Interest Expense. The principal payment of your loan will not be included in your business’ income statement. In your bookkeeping, interest accumulates on the same periodic basis even if the interest is not due. This interest is debited to your expense account and a credit is made a liability account under interest payable for the pending payment liability. Expenses are only credited when you need to adjust, reduce or close the account.

Entries to the general ledger for accrued interest, not received interest, usually take the form of adjusting entries offset by a receivable or payable account. Accrued interest is typically recorded at the end of an accounting period. Like most businesses, a bank would use what is called a “Double Entry” system of accounting for all its transactions, including loan receivables. A double entry system requires a much more detailed bookkeeping process, where every entry has an additional corresponding entry to a different account. For every “debit”, a matching “credit” must be recorded, and vice-versa. The two totals for each must balance, otherwise a mistake has been made.

First, interest expense is an expense account, and so is stated on the income statement, while interest payable is a liability account, and so is stated on the balance sheet. Second, interest expense is recorded in the accounting records with a debit, while interest payable is recorded with a credit. Third, interest expense may or may not have been paid to the lender, while interest payable is the amount that has definitely not yet been paid to the lender. A company’s total accounts payable balance at a specific point in time will appear on its balance sheet under the current liabilities section. Accounts payable are obligations that must be paid off within a given period to avoid default.

Likewise, when we pay back the loan including both principal and interest, we need to make the journal entry for loan payment with the interest to account for the cash outflow from our business. Prepaid interest is recorded as a current asset while interest that hasn’t been paid yet is a current liability. Both these line items can be found on the balance sheet, which can be generated from your accounting software. If the principal on a loan is payable within the next year, it is classified on the balance sheet as a current liability.

Chapter 13: Long-Term Notes

If the loan is expected to be paid in less than a year, there will be no long-term notes. In this journal entry, both total assets and total liabilities increase by $20,000 as a result of borrowing a $20,000 loan from the bank on January 1, 2021. For example, on January 1, 2021, we have borrowed a $20,000 loan from the bank with an interest of 10% per annum. The period of the loan is 12 months in which we need to pay back both the loan principal of $20,000 and the 10% interest which is $2,000 on January 1, 2022.

Primary-Activity Expenses

When the bill is paid, the accountant debits accounts payable to decrease the liability balance. The offsetting credit is made to the cash account, which also decreases the cash balance. Thimble Clean, a maker of concentrated detergents, borrows $100,000 on January 1 at an annual interest rate of 5%. Under the terms of the loan agreement, Thimble is required to pay each month’s interest by the 5th day of the following month. Therefore, the $416.67 of interest incurred in January (calculated as $100,000 x 5% / 12) is to be paid by February 5. Therefore, the company reports $416.67 of interest expense on its January income statement, as well as $416.67 of interest payable on its January balance sheet.

Non-Operating Revenue

As the interest expense is the type of expense that occurs through the passage of time, we usually need to record the accrued interest expense before the payment of the loan and the interest is made. Likewise, the journal entry for loan payment with interest usually has the interest payable account on the debit side instead of interest expense account. Accounts payable (AP) refer definition and example of step and fixed costs to the obligations incurred by a company during its operations that remain due and must be paid in the short term. Typical payables items include supplier invoices, legal fees, contractor payments, and so on. Some people mistakenly believe that accounts payable refer to the routine expenses of a company’s core operations, however, that is an incorrect interpretation of the term.

Definition of Loan Payment

A payable is created any time money is owed by a firm for services rendered or products provided that has not yet been paid for by the firm. This can be from a purchase from a vendor on credit, or a subscription or installment payment that is due after goods or services have been received. These are written agreements in which the borrower obtains a specific amount of money from the lender and promises to pay back the amount owed, with interest, over or within a specified time period.

Is Loan Repayment Included in an Income Statement?

In this journal entry, the interest has been accrued and the interest expense has already been recorded in the last period-end adjusting entry. This is due to the interest on loan payable is the type of expense that occurs through the passage of time. It is reported on the income statement as a non-operating expense, and is derived from such lending arrangements as lines of credit, loans, and bonds. The amount of interest incurred is typically expressed as a percentage of the outstanding amount of principal. By reporting interest expense as a non-operating expense, it’s also easier to analyze a company’s financial position. Profit is calculated by first taking into account total operating expenses.

Although some people use the phrases “accounts payable” and “trade payables” interchangeably, the phrases refer to similar but slightly different situations. Trade payables constitute the money a company owes its vendors for inventory-related goods, such as business supplies or materials that are part of the inventory. Accounts payable (AP), or “payables,” refer to a company’s short-term obligations owed to its creditors or suppliers, which have not yet been paid. Both the items of Notes Payable and Notes Receivable can be found on the Balance Sheet of a business. Notes Receivable record the value of promissory notes that a business owns, and for that reason, they are recorded as an asset. NP is a liability which records the value of promissory notes that a business will have to pay.

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