per annum Etymology, origin and meaning of phrase per annum by etymonline

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per annum Etymology, origin and meaning of phrase per annum by etymonline

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Its meaning in English has not really diverged at all, so it is basically just a snooty (or jargonistic) way to say year. Fewer people know the word, so it is probably a good word to use if you are trying to bury the truth of something under a blanket of obscure verbiage.

“Per annum” is Latin for “by the year” or “each year.” In contracts, per annum refers to obligations that occur annually over the life of an agreement. You might charge 6 percent interest on a loan per annum, for example, requiring the borrower to pay that amount each year until the principal is paid off. When it comes to contracts, per annum refers to recurring obligations or those that occur each year throughout an agreement.

Latin

An example involves a supplier offering a credit customer an early-payment discount of 2% for paying an invoice in 10 days instead of paying the full amount in 30 days. In this example the supplier is giving up 2% of the invoice amount in order to be paid 20 days early. Upgrading to a paid membership gives you access to our extensive collection of plug-and-play Templates designed to power your performance—as well as CFI’s full course catalog and accredited Certification Programs. To compute the rate normal balance we restate the amounts by multiplying both the “2%” and the “20 days” by 18 (in order to get close to the 365 days in a year).

Per annum is used in financial contexts to mean for each year. As kiamlaluno says, per annum is traditionally used more in financial contexts than per year, but these sentences show that per year is also perfectly acceptable. These example sentences are representative of the most common uses of these two phrases and, as one can see, there is no real difference between per annum and per year in usage. With this fresh impetus, the total edible oil processing capacity, including vanaspati, is expected to cross 20 million tonne per annum. Per annum refers to a duration of one year, or on a yearly basis. The term is commonly used in regard to a sum due at intervals of one year or over the course of a year.

Example of Per Annum

For example, if a bank charges an interest of 3% on a loan per annum, it means that you will need to pay an additional 3% of the principal amount every year until the end of the contract. It is a common phrase used to describe an interest rate. Often “per annum” is omitted, as in “I have a 4% mortgage loan.” or “This bond pays interest of 6%.” Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

As such, it is typically found in contracts involving the per annum amount of interest owed to a lender. Take your learning and productivity to the next level with our Premium Templates. Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.