Mortgage Payable

Written by True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

Reviewed by Subject Matter Experts

Updated on March 09, 2023

Mortgage Payable: Definition

A mortgage is a promissory note secured by an asset whose title is pledged to the lender. It is a form of long-term liability. Mortgages are generally are payable in equal installments consisting of interest and principal.

Accounting Procedures

To demonstrate the accounting procedures, suppose that on 2 January 2019, Grant Corporation purchases a small building for $1 million and makes a down payment of $200,000.

The mortgage is payable over 30 years at a rate of $8,229 monthly. The annual interest rate is 12%, and the first payment is due on 1 February 2019.

Journal Entries to Record Mortgage Payable

The journal entry to record the purchase of the building is as follows:

Accounting for mortgage payable


Subsequent entries are based on dividing the monthly payment of $8,229 between principal and interest. A mortgage amortization table can be used for this purpose, and such a table for the first 5 months of 2019 is shown as follows:

Mortgage Amortization Table


Each month, the total payment of $8,229 is divided into interest and principal. The interest is based on 1% (12% / 12 months) of the note's carrying value at the beginning of the month.

Therefore, in February, the interest is $8,000 (or $800,000 x 1%) and the principal portion of the payment is thus $229 (or $8,229 - $8,000). In March, the interest is $7,998 (or 1% of $799,771), and this pattern continues monthly.

The journal entry for February 2019 is presented as follows:

Journal entries to record mortgage payable


Since most mortgages are payable in monthly installments, the principal payments for the next 12 months after the balance sheet date must be shown in the current liability section as a current maturity of long-term debt.

The remaining portion is, of course, classified as a long-term liability.

Mortgage Payable FAQs

About the Author

True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.

True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.

To learn more about True, visit his personal website or view his author profiles on Amazon, Nasdaq and Forbes.