How to Create a Lease Amortization Schedule: A Comprehensive Guide

When it comes to managing leases and financial obligations, understanding how to calculate a lease amortization schedule is crucial. This schedule not only helps you keep track of payment timing but also ensures accurate financial reporting and compliance. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating a lease amortization schedule step by step, using Excel as a powerful tool. Whether you’re a business owner, accountant, or financial analyst, mastering this skill can greatly enhance your financial management capabilities.

What is Lease Amortization​

Lease amortization refers to the process of gradually reducing the value of a lease over its term. It involves spreading out the lease’s total cost (such as the present value of lease payments) over the duration of the lease, similar to how loan amortization works.

For accounting purposes, this is typically used for leases that fall under the guidelines of operating leases or finance leases under the current accounting standards, like IFRS 16 or ASC 842. The purpose of lease amortization is to allocate the lease expense over the lease term.

Key components involved in lease amortization:

• Lease Liability: The amount that the lessee owes to the lessor over the lease term. This amount is the present value of lease payments.
• Right-of-Use (ROU) Asset: The value of the asset the lessee has the right to use under the lease, which is also amortized over the lease term.

Understanding a Lease Amortization Schedule

A lease amortization tables is designed to outline the timing of lease payments and allocate them between principal and interest components. It is a schedule reflecting the gradual reduction of the lease liability balance over time. This split of the payments into principal and interest is required for the undiscounted cash payments to reduce the discounted liability to zero at the end of the lease term.

How To Create a Lease Amortization Schedule

To begin, let’s explore how to construct a lease amortization schedule:

1. Gather Information: Collect essential lease details, including the number of payments, payment amounts, lease term, and discount rate.
2. Choose Payment Timing: Determine whether your discounting calculations will be based on payments made at the beginning or end of each period. This choice will influence your calculation methodology. The actual timing of the payments is not relevant to this decision. Although many companies choose beginning of period methodology to align with real estate rent due the first of the month, others choose end of period to be consistent with calculations created in Excel.
3. Calculate Beginning Liability Balance: Calculate the net present value of all remaining future payments. This value serves as your beginning liability balance.
4. Set Up Amortization Schedule: Create a table with columns for Period, Beginning Balance, Interest Expense, Principal Payment, Cash Payment, and Ending Balance.
5. Fill in Period Numbers: Start with period 1 and proceed to the lease term’s final period.
6. Calculate Interest Expense: Based on your chosen payment timing, calculate the interest expense for each period. For beginning-of-period payments, subtract the full current period payment from the previous period’s ending balance, then apply the interest rate. For end-of-period payments, apply the interest rate to the previous period’s ending balance.
7. Calculate Principal Payment: Subtract the interest expense from the cash payment to determine the principal payment.
8. Calculate Ending Balance: Deduct the principal payment from the beginning balance to get the ending balance for the current period.
9. Repeat the Process: Continue these calculations for each period until the lease term is complete.
10. Visualize the Data: Create a line chart to visualize the gradual reduction of the lease liability balance over time.

Benefits of Using a Lease Amortization Schedule

Creating a lease amortization schedule offers several benefits for businesses and individuals alike:

• Financial Planning: The schedule provides a clear overview of payment distribution, helping you plan your finances effectively.
• Accurate Reporting: An accurate schedule aids in preparing financial statements and adhering to accounting standards such as ASC 842 and IFRS 16.
• Compliance: For businesses, compliance with lease accounting standards is essential. A well-constructed schedule ensures you stay compliant with regulations.
• Informed Decisions: By understanding how payments are allocated between interest and principal, you can make informed decisions about leasing arrangements.

What about the Assets?

Assets are also amortized in a Lease Amortization Schedule, but with some important differences. The initial value of the asset is first adjusted by things like lease incentives, initial direct costs, prepaid rent, and more. The amortization of that asset depends upon the lease classification.  Operating leases are amortized based on straight line rent and interest, while finance leases amortize the asset on a straight line basis.

Ordinary modifications further complicate the asset valuation, while impairments and abandonments completely change the amortization schedule. This level of complication is another driving factor behind companies leveraging dedicated lease accounting software to remain in compliance.

How to Get a Lease Amortization Schedule or Template

For those looking to simplify the process, various online lease amortization schedule calculators are available. These tools allow you to input lease details and receive a ready-made schedule.

In conclusion, understanding how to calculate a lease amortization schedule is a valuable skill that enhances financial management and decision-making. By leveraging tools, you can create accurate schedules that provide insights into lease payment timing and distribution. Whether you’re a business professional or an individual managing personal leases, this knowledge empowers you to take control of your financial obligations.

Remember, consistency in methodology is key, regardless of whether you choose beginning-of-period or end-of-period calculations. By mastering lease amortization schedules, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the complexities of lease accounting and financial management.

Looking for a tool to manage your lease accounting needs? Easily manage every modification and maintain compliance as your leases – and the regulatory requirements – evolve with VL’s Lease Accounting platform.