Browse Investing

Deep Discount and Amortized Premium or Discount

Fixed-income terms for deep discounts, shallow discounts, amortizable bond premiums, and unamortized bond premium or discount balances.

Deep discount and amortized premium or discount terms explain how large price differences from par are measured and how premiums or discounts may be recognized over time.

Use this branch when a bond’s price is far below face value, when premium or discount accounting affects carrying value, or when tax and yield analysis require amortization detail.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermWhat it clarifies
Deep Discount BondA bond trading or issued at a substantial discount to par.
Deeply Discounted SecurityA broader discounted fixed-income security label.
Shallow Discount BondA bond trading slightly below par.
Amortizable Bond PremiumPremium that may be recognized over time under applicable rules.
Unamortized Bond DiscountDiscount not yet recognized through amortization.
Unamortized Bond PremiumPremium not yet recognized through amortization.

What to Verify

Check issue price, purchase price, face value, remaining maturity, coupon, call schedule, yield basis, tax status, accounting treatment, and whether the bond was originally issued at a discount or later traded down in the secondary market.

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming every deep discount reflects the same cause.
  • Ignoring accrued market discount, original issue discount, tax rules, or amortization method where relevant.
  • Treating unamortized premium or discount as current market value.
  • Comparing deep-discount bonds without checking default probability and recovery assumptions.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Amortizable Bond Premium

An amortizable bond premium is the above-par amount investors allocate over a bond's remaining life for tax, accounting, and yield purposes.

Deep Discount Bond

A deep discount bond trades far below face value, often because of low coupon, credit risk, long maturity, or zero-coupon structure.

Deeply Discounted Security

A deeply discounted security is issued or trades far below redemption value, making accretion, yield, and tax treatment central.

Shallow Discount Bond

A shallow discount bond trades modestly below par value, usually because its coupon is slightly below current market yields.

Unamortized Bond Discount

Unamortized bond discount is the remaining below-par issuance discount not yet accreted into interest expense or carrying value.

Unamortized Bond Premium

Unamortized bond premium is the remaining above-par amount not yet allocated to income, tax basis, or carrying value.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026