ASC 450-912

Contractors—Federal Government

450 Contingencies

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Source downloaded: 2026-09-10T00:28:25.535Z.Record version b4c20571eab6. Effective date must be checked in the source.

In brief

IntermediateContingencies and guarantees Industry-specific Recognition Revenue

ASC 450-912 is the contingencies guidance specific to contractors dealing with the U.S. federal government. It addresses contingencies arising when a contract is terminated for the convenience of the government and contingencies related to subcontractor claims under those terminated contracts. The substantive recognition guidance is largely cross-referenced elsewhere—subcontractor claim contingencies are addressed in paragraph 912-20-25-3, and the former recognition paragraph was superseded by ASU 2014-09.

Key points (5)

The Subtopic covers contingencies of government contractors associated with contracts terminated for the convenience of the government and subcontractor claims under those terminated contracts (450-912-05-1).
Scope follows the Overall Subtopic scope in Section 912-10-15, so it applies to entities with federal government contracts (450-912-15-1).
Paragraph 450-912-25-1, which previously provided recognition guidance, was superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (the revenue recognition standard).
Subcontractor claims as they relate to contingencies are addressed by cross-reference to paragraph 912-20-25-3 rather than in this Subtopic (450-912-25-2).
Because of the ASU 2014-09 supersession, termination-for-convenience claim amounts are now generally analyzed under the contract-with-customer revenue model rather than as contingent gains under Topic 450.

For students. This is a short, mostly cross-referencing industry subtopic—its practical significance is that ASU 2014-09 gutted its recognition paragraph, pushing termination claims into the Topic 606 revenue model. The common misunderstanding is assuming Topic 450's gain-contingency rules still govern claims on contracts terminated for the government's convenience.

termination for convenience government contracts subcontractor claims loss contingency gain contingency terminated contract claims superseded guidance

Machine-generated study aid for ASC 450-912. Check the source paragraphs below.

450-912-00Status

Source downloaded: 2026-09-10T00:28:13.837Z.Record version b8b42abd5402. Effective date must be checked in the source.

450-912-00-1

The following table identifies the changes made to this Subtopic.

Paragraph	Action	Accounting Standards Update	Date

912-450-25-1	Superseded	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014

450-912-05Overview and Background

Source downloaded: 2026-09-10T00:28:16.856Z.Record version 0e6bc9879f23. Effective date must be checked in the source.

450-912-05-1

This Subtopic provides guidance to government contractors related to contingencies associated with contracts terminated for the convenience of the government and subcontractor claims under terminated contracts.

450-912-15Scope and Scope Exceptions

Source downloaded: 2026-09-10T00:28:19.356Z.Record version 7b8baac88c46. Effective date must be checked in the source.

Overall Guidance

450-912-15-1

This Subtopic follows the same Scope and Scope Exceptions as outlined in the Overall Subtopic, see Section 912-10-15.

450-912-25Recognition

Source downloaded: 2026-09-10T00:28:25.535Z.Record version 3d15964b7e46. Effective date must be checked in the source.

450-912-25-1

Paragraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09.

Subcontractor Claims

450-912-25-2

For a discussion of subcontractor claims as they relate to contingencies, see paragraph 912-20-25-3.