What Is the Nonaccrual Experience (NAE) Method?
I'm here to explain the Nonaccrual Experience (NAE) Method directly—it's an accounting procedure permitted by the Internal Revenue Code for managing bad debts. You can only use this for bad debts related to services in specific fields: accounting, actuarial science, architecture, consulting, engineering, health, law, or the performing arts. Your company must also have average annual gross receipts of less than $5 million for any three prior tax years. Check IRS Publication 535 on Business Expenses for more details.
Key Takeaways
Let me break this down assertively: the NAE Method is an accounting standard for dealing with bad or delinquent debts. With this approach, you don't have to accrue income that your past experience shows is unlikely to be collected. Instead, you can write off those bad debts that probably won't be paid.
Understanding the Nonaccrual Experience (NAE) Method
You face a bad debt when you can't collect money owed to your business. If you can't claim it under the NAE Method on your tax return, you might use the more common specific charge-off method. Under NAE, you estimate the bad debt level based on your own history with customers and vendors.
As per SEC rule 448(d)(5), this method lets certain service providers exclude from accrual the revenue portion they determine won't be collected, using their experience and allowed formulas. You must be in one of these fields: accounting, actuarial science, architecture, consulting, engineering, health, law, or the performing arts.
To qualify, you need to use an accrual method for service revenues, be in those sectors, and have gross receipts under $5 million in any of the past three tax years.
Important
Remember, the matching principle demands that expenses match related revenues in the same period. To follow GAAP tax rules, you must estimate bad debt expenses using the allowance method in the sale period.
Using the Nonaccrual Experience Method
You have options for applying NAE. For example, you can request IRS consent to switch to a formula that reflects your experience. This focuses on adopting or changing to safe harbor NAE methods—safe harbor means an accounting approach that sidesteps strict regulations or simplifies tax calculations compared to the code's exact wording.
In September 2011, the IRS updated rules allowing a safe harbor for NAE users to compute uncollectible revenues by applying a 95% factor to their allowance for doubtful accounts from financial statements.
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