We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.


Add-On Interest

  

Add-on interest is a new math way of accounting for, or paying off, bond debt.

Add-on interest adds on the cost of interest each period to the principal of a loan so that, at the end of the period, a huge debt is owed, payable at the time the principal is owed.

You borrow a hundred grand at 6% for five years with add-on interest. Every six months, another three grand is tacked onto that hundred grand that you owe. Or rather, the new debt that you owe after six months is $103,000, on which you then pay a half year's interest of that 6%, or 3%, on $103,000. And the compounding continues to get uglier.

Think of it as the debtor's version of acute zero coupon bond.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is Bond Amortization?7 Views

00:00

Finance a la shmoop what is bond amortization? okay fancy term easy

00:08

concept the basic idea is that you have to "revalue" what a bond is

00:14

actually worth each period which usually means twice a year because bonds pay [Monthly calendar appears]

00:18

interest on the you know semester system yeah twice a year so let's say you've

00:22

paid seven hundred bucks for a bond with a 5% coupon which comes due for a

00:26

thousand bucks in ten years over that time you'll have received two things the

00:31

5% per year interest from the bond in cash paid along the way and the [5% interest per year appears]

00:35

appreciation of the 700 bucks to become the thousand dollar par value at which

00:41

point it will eventually pay back its principal so to amortize the $300 of

00:46

appreciation of that bond over ten years while you could attribute 30 bucks a

00:51

year in appreciation each year such that after we'll say three and a half years

00:56

you'd hold the bond as having appreciated 3.5 times 30 bucks or $105 [Straight line appreciation formula appears]

01:04

in appreciation making the bond worth at that point in time eight hundred five

01:09

dollars oh yeah fancy but also pretty easy

Up Next

Finance: What is a zero coupon bond?
15 Views

What is a zero coupon bond? Zero coupon bonds are an interesting investment because they don’t pay any interest. They are only desirable because...

Finance: What is a Muni Bond?
24 Views

What is a muni bond? Muni bonds are bonds issued by the government. They are used to raise the money required to pay for government responsibilitie...

Finance: What is Balloon Interest, or a Balloon Payment?
198 Views

What is Balloon Interest or a Balloon Payment? Balloon interest happens when bonds with growing interest are held for a long time. A balloon paymen...

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)