# ASC 405-20-05: Liabilities — Extinguishments of Liabilities — 05 Overview and Background

Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View

[Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/405/20/#05-overview-and-background)

Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective.

Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure.

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z to 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z

Record version: sha256:7c6339656ddb86a4e8928326922bf2249f4072cc40df68764ed4c81575bc847e

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


## ASC 405-20-05: 05 Overview and Background

[Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/405/20/#05-overview-and-background)

SEC content: no

##### [405-20-05-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/405/20/#405-20-05-1)

Pending content: no

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z to 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z

Record version: sha256:911eec93d65f0d4ba538756617fde537656aa29333fb8e10d5047a21eac8ba29

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


This Subtopic addresses extinguishments of liabilities. This Subtopic does not address debt conversions or troubled debt restructurings. The accounting guidance for those areas is addressed in Subtopics 470-20 and 470-60.

##### [405-20-05-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/405/20/#405-20-05-2)

Pending content: no

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z to 2026-09-10T00:13:49.419Z

Record version: sha256:b7aa508549b769af1a65f0fe01353b69659d0c287c98d40ab1a74dbea160407e

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


An entity may settle a liability by transferring assets to the creditor or otherwise obtaining an unconditional release. Alternatively, an entity may enter into other arrangements designed to set aside assets dedicated to eventually settling a liability. Accounting for those arrangements has raised issues about when a liability should be considered extinguished. This Subtopic establishes standards for resolving those issues.
