What Is an Allowance for Bad Debt?

An allowance for bad debt is a valuation account used to estimate the amount of a firm’s receivables that may ultimately be uncollectible. It is also known as an allowance for doubtful accounts. When a borrower defaults on a loan, the allowance for bad debt account and the loan receivable balance are both reduced for the book value of the loan.

How an Allowance for Bad Debt Works

Lenders use an allowance for bad debt because the face value of a firm’s total accounts receivable is not the actual balance that is ultimately collected. Ultimately, a portion of the receivables will not be paid. When a customer never pays the principal or interest amount due on a receivable, the business must eventually write it off entirely.

Methods of Estimating an Allowance for Bad Debt

There are two primary ways to calculate the allowance for bad debt. One method is based on sales, while the other is based on accounts receivable.

Sales Method

The sales method estimates the bad debt allowance as a percentage of credit sales as they occur. Suppose that a firm makes $1,000,000 in credit sales but knows from experience that 1.5% never pay. Then, the sales method estimate of the allowance for bad debt would be $15,000.

Accounts Receivable Method

The accounts receivable method is considerably more sophisticated and takes advantage of the aging of receivables to provide better estimates of the allowance for bad debts. The basic idea is that the longer a debt goes unpaid, the more likely it is that the debt will never pay. In this case, perhaps only 1% of initial sales would be added to the allowance for bad debt.

However, 10% of receivables that had not paid after 30 days might be added to the allowance for bad debt. After 90 days, it could rise to 50%. Finally, the debts might be written off after one year.

Requirements for an Allowance for Bad Debt

According to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the main requirement for an allowance for bad debt is that it accurately reflects the firm’s collections history. If $2,100 out of $100,000 in credit sales did not pay last year, then 2.1% is a suitable sales method estimate of the allowance for bad debt this year. This estimation process is easy when the firm has been operating for a few years. New businesses must use industry averages, rules of thumb, or numbers from another business.

Default Considerations

When a lender confirms that a specific loan balance is in default, the company reduces the allowance for doubtful accounts balance. It also reduces the loan receivable balance, because the loan default is no longer simply part of a bad debt estimate.

Adjustment Considerations

The allowance for bad debt always reflects the current balance of loans that are expected to default, and the balance is adjusted over time to show that balance. Suppose that a lender estimates $2 million of the loan balance is at risk of default, and the allowance account already has a $1 million balance. Then, the adjusting entry to bad debt expense and the increase to the allowance account is an additional $1 million.

What Is the Additional Child Tax Credit?

The additional child tax credit was the refundable portion of the child tax credit. It could be claimed by families who owed the IRS less than their qualified child tax credit amount. Since the child tax credit was non-refundable, the additional child tax credit refunded the unused portion of the child tax credit to the taxpayer. This provision was eliminated from 2018 to 2025 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

However, under the TCJA, the child tax credit includes some provisions for refundable credits. In addition, on March 11, 2021, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan was voted into law and made child tax credits fully refundable in 2021.

Understanding the Additional Child Tax Credit

A tax credit is a benefit given to eligible taxpayers to help reduce their tax liabilities. If Susan’s tax bill is $5,550 but she qualifies for a $2,500 tax credit, she will only have to pay $3,050. Some tax credits are refundable, meaning that if the tax credit amounts to more than what is owed as tax, the individual will receive a refund. If Susan’s tax credit is actually $6,050 and is refundable, she will be given a check for $6,050 – $5,550 = $500.

Depending on what tax group a taxpayer falls in, they may be eligible to claim a tax credit. For example, taxpayers with children may qualify for the child tax credit which helps to offset the costs of raising kids.

For the 2022 through 2025 tax year, the child tax credit allows eligible tax filers to reduce their tax liability by up to $2,000 per child. To be eligible for the child tax credit, the child or dependent must:

• Be 16 years or younger by the end of the tax year
• Be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident alien
• Have lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the tax year
• Be claimed as a dependent on the federal tax return
• Not have provided more than half of their own financial support
• Have a Social Security number

Child Tax Credit vs. Additional Child Tax Credit

Previously, the child tax credit was non-refundable, which means the credit could reduce a taxpayer’s bill to zero, but any excess from the credit would not be refunded. Families who wanted to keep the unused portion of the child tax credit could go the route of another available tax credit called the additional child tax credit.

This credit was a refundable tax credit that families could qualify for if they already qualified for the non-refundable child tax credit. The additional child tax credit was ideal for families who owed less than the child tax credit and wanted to receive a refund for the surplus credit.

While the additional child tax credit was eliminated in 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), up to $1,400 of the $2,000 child tax credit can be refundable for each qualifying child if certain conditions are met. For example, a taxpayer needs to earn more than $2,500 for the tax year to qualify for any refund. To claim a refund, filers must complete Schedule 8812.

The American Rescue Plan created major changes to the child tax credit for 2021. The maximum credit rose to $3,000 (children up to 17) or $3,600 (children younger than six). Qualifying families started receiving monthly checks (half of the full credit) in July 2021. The credit also became fully refundable in 2021, and families may claim the second half of the credit on their 2021 tax return. This child-related tax benefit begins to phase out for individual filers with children who earn more than $75,000 and joint filers earning more than $150,000.

Example of the Additional Child Tax Credit

Before the TCJA, the IRS allowed families with an annual income of more than $3,000 to claim a refund using the additional child tax credit. The tax credit depended on how much the taxpayer earned and was calculated by taking 15% of the taxpayer’s taxable earned income over $3,000 up to the maximum amount of the credit, which was then $1,000 per child. The total amount above $3,000 (subject to annual adjustments for inflation) was refundable.

For example, a taxpayer with two dependents qualifies for the child tax credit. Their earned income is $28,000, which means income over $3,000 is $25,000. Since 15% x $25,000 = $3,750 is greater than the maximum credit of $2,000 for two kids, they would have received the full portion of any unused credit.

So if the taxpayer received an $800 child tax credit, they would be refunded a $1,200 Additional child tax credit. However, if the taxable earned income was $12,000 instead, 15% of this amount over $3,000 is 15% x $9,000 = $1,350. Because the refundable portion of the credit cannot exceed 15% of earned income above $3,000, the taxpayer would receive a maximum refund of $1,350, not $2,000.

Taxpayers who were residents of Puerto Rico with income below $3,000 were eligible if they had at least three qualifying dependents and paid Social Security tax in excess of the amount of their earned-income credit for the year.

What Is Advanced Internal Rating-Based (AIRB)?

An advanced internal rating-based (AIRB) approach to credit risk measurement is a method that requests that all risk components be calculated internally within a financial institution. Advanced internal rating-based (AIRB) can help an institution reduce its capital requirements and credit risk.

In addition to the basic internal rating-based (IRB) approach estimations, the advanced approach assesses the risk of default using loss given default (LGD), exposure at default (EAD), and the probability of default (PD). These three elements help determine the risk-weighted asset (RWA) that is calculated on a percentage basis for the total required capital.”

Understanding Advanced Internal Rating-Based Systems

Implementing the AIRB approach is one step in the process of becoming a Basel II-compliant institution. However, an institution may implement the AIRB approach only if they comply with certain supervisory standards outlined in the Basel II accord.

Basel II is a set of international banking regulations, issued by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision in July 2006, which expand upon those outlined in Basel I. These regulations provided uniform rules and guidelines to level the international banking field. Basel II expanded the rules for minimum capital requirements established under Basel I, provided a framework for regulatory review, and set disclosure requirements for assessment of capital adequacy. Basel II also incorporates credit risk of institutional assets.

Advanced Internal Rating-Based Systems and Empirical Models

The AIRB approach allows banks to estimate many internal risk components themselves. While the empirical models among institutions vary, one example is the Jarrow-Turnbull model. Originally developed and published by Robert A. Jarrow (Kamakura Corporation and Cornell University), along with Stuart Turnbull, (University of Houston), the Jarrow-Turnbull model is a “reduced-form” credit model. Reduced form credit models center on describing bankruptcy as a statistical process, in contrast with a microeconomic model of the firm’s capital structure. (The latter process forms the basis of common “structural credit models.”) The Jarrow–Turnbull model employs a random interest rates framework. Financial institutions often work with both structural credit models and Jarrow-Turnbull ones, when determining the risk of default.

Advanced Internal Rating-Based systems also help banks determine loss given default (LGD) and exposure at default (EAD). Loss given default is the amount of money to be lost in the event of a borrower default; while exposure at default (EAD) is the total value a bank is exposed to at the time of said default.

Advanced Internal Rating-Based Systems and Capital Requirements

Set by regulatory agencies, such as the Bank for International Settlements, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Board, capital requirements set the amount of liquidity is needed to be held for a certain level of assets at many financial institutions. They also ensure that banks and depository institutions have enough capital to both sustain operating losses and honor withdrawals. AIRB can help financial institutions determine these levels.

What Is Activity-Based Costing (ABC)?

Activity-based costing (ABC) is a costing method that assigns overhead and indirect costs to related products and services. This accounting method of costing recognizes the relationship between costs, overhead activities, and manufactured products, assigning indirect costs to products less arbitrarily than traditional costing methods. However, some indirect costs, such as management and office staff salaries, are difficult to assign to a product.

How Activity-Based Costing (ABC) Works

Activity-based costing (ABC) is mostly used in the manufacturing industry since it enhances the reliability of cost data, hence producing nearly true costs and better classifying the costs incurred by the company during its production process.

This costing system is used in target costing, product costing, product line profitability analysis, customer profitability analysis, and service pricing. Activity-based costing is used to get a better grasp on costs, allowing companies to form a more appropriate pricing strategy. 

The formula for activity-based costing is the cost pool total divided by cost driver, which yields the cost driver rate. The cost driver rate is used in activity-based costing to calculate the amount of overhead and indirect costs related to a particular activity. 

The ABC calculation is as follows:  

1. Identify all the activities required to create the product. 
2. Divide the activities into cost pools, which includes all the individual costs related to an activity—such as manufacturing. Calculate the total overhead of each cost pool.
3. Assign each cost pool activity cost drivers, such as hours or units. 
4. Calculate the cost driver rate by dividing the total overhead in each cost pool by the total cost drivers. 
5. Divide the total overhead of each cost pool by the total cost drivers to get the cost driver rate. 
6. Multiply the cost driver rate by the number of cost drivers. 

As an activity-based costing example, consider Company ABC that has a $50,000 per year electricity bill. The number of labor hours has a direct impact on the electric bill. For the year, there were 2,500 labor hours worked, which in this example is the cost driver. Calculating the cost driver rate is done by dividing the $50,000 a year electric bill by the 2,500 hours, yielding a cost driver rate of $20. For Product XYZ, the company uses electricity for 10 hours. The overhead costs for the product are $200, or $20 times 10.

Requirements for Activity-Based Costing (ABC)

The ABC system of cost accounting is based on activities, which are any events, units of work, or tasks with a specific goal, such as setting up machines for production, designing products, distributing finished goods, or operating machines. Activities consume overhead resources and are considered cost objects.

Under the ABC system, an activity can also be considered as any transaction or event that is a cost driver. A cost driver, also known as an activity driver, is used to refer to an allocation base. Examples of cost drivers include machine setups, maintenance requests, consumed power, purchase orders, quality inspections, or production orders.

There are two categories of activity measures: transaction drivers, which involves counting how many times an activity occurs, and duration drivers, which measure how long an activity takes to complete.

Unlike traditional cost measurement systems that depend on volume count, such as machine hours and/or direct labor hours to allocate indirect or overhead costs to products, the ABC system classifies five broad levels of activity that are, to a certain extent, unrelated to how many units are produced. These levels include batch-level activity, unit-level activity, customer-level activity, organization-sustaining activity, and product-level activity.

Benefits of Activity-Based Costing (ABC)

Activity-based costing (ABC) enhances the costing process in three ways. First, it expands the number of cost pools that can be used to assemble overhead costs. Instead of accumulating all costs in one company-wide pool, it pools costs by activity. 

Second, it creates new bases for assigning overhead costs to items such that costs are allocated based on the activities that generate costs instead of on volume measures, such as machine hours or direct labor costs. 

Finally, ABC alters the nature of several indirect costs, making costs previously considered indirect—such as depreciation, utilities, or salaries—traceable to certain activities. Alternatively, ABC transfers overhead costs from high-volume products to low-volume products, raising the unit cost of low-volume products.