unamortized loan cost in balance sheet (Schedule L for Form 1065)

unamortized loan cost in balance sheet (Schedule L for Form 1065)

Member since 2018 · 72 posts · 25 votes

I have one question about treating unamortized loan cost in balance sheet (Schedule L for Form 1065). 


Following is the details:

On April 4, 2025, I formed one partnership LLC to acquire one rental apartment with a bridge loan. The total loan cost is $18,000 : points ($16000) and processing fee ($2000), loan term: 18 months. The $18000 needs capitalized so I start amortization for loan cost from April with $1000 monthly.

On Nov 12, 2025 (7 months later), I refinaned with Chase, a new lender. Once refinance is done, the accumulated amortization of loan cost is $7000 and unamortized loan cost is $11000. From tax purpose, I did the following treatment:


(1) $7000 Accumulated amortization: It is recorded on Form 4562 Depreciation and Amortization. The amount will be used to recapture when selling the apartment

(2)   $11000 Unamortized loan cost: It is classed as "Loss on Debt Extinguishment" and recorded on the "other expense" for Form 8825.

Because end-year asset value exceeds threashold, I have to submit Schedule L Balance Sheet when filling Form 1065.

There are two rows and two columuns in Schedule L. It looks like below:

                                                                                             End of tax year

                                                                                        (c)          |                (d)

12a Intangible assets (amortizable only)                               |

    b Less accumulated amortization                                       |

As the original loan cost has been fulled disposed. I have two options to record this on the Balance Sheet:

Method A: Adjust the original value of loan cost recorded in the Intangible asset by $11000 (Loss on Debt Extinguishment) and record the accumulated amortization $7000. So the net book value for this asset is $0. The problem of this method is that I adjusted the original value $18000 to $7000 which doesn't reflect the original $18000 asset value.

                                                                                             End of tax year

                                                                                          (c)         |        (d)

12a Intangible assets (amortizable only)                $7000     |

b Less accumulated amortization . .                       $7000      |          0

Method B: Record the original value of loan cost as $18000 and the accumulated amortization $7000. This is in accord with actual value. The problem is that the net book value is $11000 which is not correct. I need to find out a way to reduce the new book value of this asset to 0.

                                                                                         End of tax year

                                                                                               (c)     |      (d)

12a Intangible assets (amortizable only)                   $18000 |

b Less accumulated amortization . .                            $7000  | $11000

Question:

The main difficulty is that: I want to achieve original value: $18000, accumulated amortization: $7000, net value of this asset: $0. However, they are not balanced. So my question is:

  1. How to treat this unamortized loan cost in balance sheet? Which method is proper?
  2. Even though this asset has been disposed, should I still keep the original value and accumulated amortization in the following years so that the accumulated amortization can reflect the total amorization I adopted to calculate the recapture when selling the apartment?

Regards, Zhenyang

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  • Jason MalabuteBusiness Member
    Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 902 votes
    5mo

    Your instinct is right. When you refinance and pay off the original loan, the unamortized loan costs tied to that old loan generally become fully deductible in the year of the refinance as a loss on debt extinguishment, and that deduction flows through to the partners on their K-1s. The portion you already amortized stays where it is as regular amortization expense for the months it applied, and it doesn't get treated as recapture when you eventually sell since recapture applies to depreciable property, not to amortized loan costs.

    A couple of general pointers. It's usually cleaner to show the write-off on its own line as "loss on extinguishment of debt" rather than bundling it into generic "other expenses," since it makes the return easier to support if it's ever questioned. And any new points or fees from the new loan start their own amortization schedule over the new loan's life. The exact presentation can depend on whether the refinance is treated as a true payoff of the old debt versus a modification of it, so I'd confirm the final treatment with your own CPA or tax advisor before filing.

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  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5mo

    You would want to run the unamortized loan costs through form 4797 and get the write off of $11k. then, you'd capitalize the new loan costs and amortize. The new loan costs are what should be on the balance sheet as of 12/31/25. 

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