BASIS OF PRESENTATION	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
BASIS OF PRESENTATION	NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION The interim (unaudited) consolidated financial statements of Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. ("Salisbury") include those of Salisbury and its wholly owned subsidiary, Salisbury Bank and Trust Company (the "Bank"). In the opinion of management, the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position of Salisbury and the consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for the interim periods presented. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). In preparing the financial statements, management is required to make extensive use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet, and revenues and expenses for the period. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the determination of the allowance for loan losses, other-than-temporary impairment of securities and impairment of goodwill and intangibles. Certain financial information, which is normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, but which is not required for interim reporting purposes, has been condensed or omitted. Operating results for the interim period ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019. The accompanying condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in Salisbury's 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The allowance for loan losses is a significant accounting policy and is presented in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and in Management's Discussion and Analysis, which provides information on how significant assets are valued in the financial statements and how those values are determined. Based on the valuation techniques used and the sensitivity of financial statement amounts to the methods, assumptions and estimates underlying those amounts, management has identified the determination of the allowance for loan losses to be the accounting area that requires the most subjective judgments, and as such could be most subject to revision as new information becomes available. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)”. Under the new guidance, lessees are required to recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases): (1) a lease liability, which is the present value of a lessee's obligation to make lease payments, and (2) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Lessor accounting under the new guidance remains largely unchanged as it is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases, and operating leases. Leveraged leases have been eliminated, although lessors can continue to account for existing leveraged leases using the current accounting guidance. Other limited changes were made to align lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and the new revenue recognition standard. All entities will classify leases to determine how to recognize lease-related revenue and expense. Quantitative and qualitative disclosures are required by lessees and lessors to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The intention is to require enough information to supplement the amounts recorded in the financial statements so that users can understand more about the nature of an entity's leasing activities. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10 which provided technical corrections to the new lease standard. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 Leases – Targeted Improvements, to provide entities with relief from the costs of implementing certain aspects of the new leasing standard. Specifically, under the amendments in ASU 2018-11, entities may elect not to recast the comparative periods presented when transitioning to the new lease standard. ASU 2018-11 has the same effective date as ASU 2016-02 (January 1, 2019 for the Company). Salisbury adopted ASU 2018-11 and elected the transition option. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-01, the transition guidance related to certain interim disclosures provided in the year of adoption. To coincide with the adoption of AU 2016-02, Salisbury elected to early adopt ASU 2019-01 on January 1, 2019. Salisbury's consolidated assets and liabilities increased by approximately $1.6 million due to the recording of operating leases as a result of adopting ASU 2016-02 effective January 1, 2019. See also Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statement for further information. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which adds a new Topic 326 to the Codification and removes the thresholds that companies apply to measure credit losses on financial instruments measured at amortized cost, such as loans, receivables, and held-to-maturity debt securities. Under current U.S. GAAP, companies generally recognize credit losses when it is probable that the loss has been incurred. The revised guidance will remove all recognition thresholds and will require companies to recognize an allowance for credit losses for the difference between the amortized cost basis of a financial instrument and the amount of amortized cost that the company expects to collect over the instrument's contractual life. ASU 2016-13 also amends the credit loss measurement guidance for available-for-sale debt securities and beneficial interests in securitized financial assets. The guidance in ASU 2016-13 is effective for “public business entities,” as defined, that are SEC filers for fiscal years and for interim periods with those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04 which clarified the treatment of accrued interest when measuring credit losses. Entities may: (1) measure the allowance for credit losses on accrued interest receivable balances separately from other components of the amortized cost basis of associated financial assets; (2) make various accounting policy elections regarding the treatment of accrued interest receivable; or (3) elect a practical expedient to disclose separately the total amount of accrued interest included in the amortized cost basis as a single balance to meet certain disclosure requirements. ASU 2019-04 also clarified that expected recoveries of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off should be included in the valuation account and should not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off by the entity. In addition, for collateral dependent financial assets, the amendments clarify that an allowance for credit losses that is added to the amortized cost basis of the financial asset(s) should not exceed amounts previously written off. On October 16, 2019 the FASB formally delayed the implementation of this standard for smaller reporting companies to years beginning after December 15, 2022, although early adoption is permitted. Salisbury meets the definition of a smaller reporting company because its public float is less than $250 million. Upon adoption, Salisbury will apply the standard's provisions as a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. Salisbury anticipates that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 will impact the consolidated financial statements as it relates to the balance in the allowance for loan losses and the Bank will continue to evaluate the extent of the impact. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” This ASU is intended to allow companies to simplify how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The FASB is researching whether similar amendments should be considered for other entities, including public business entities. ASU 2017-04 is effective for public business entities that are SEC filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. Entities should apply the guidance prospectively. Salisbury is currently evaluating the provisions of ASU 2017-04 to determine the potential impact the new standard will have on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, “Receivables—Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.” This ASU will amend the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. The Board is shortening the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. Under previous generally accepted accounting principles, entities generally amortized the premium as an adjustment of yield over the contractual life of the instrument. On January 1, 2019, the Bank adopted the new standard, which did not have a material impact on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-03, “Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. Among the changes, entities will no longer be required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, but will be required to disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2018-03 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; early adoption is permitted. As ASU 2018-13 only revises disclosure requirements, it will not have a material impact on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The interim (unaudited) consolidated financial statements of Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. ("Salisbury") include those of Salisbury and its wholly owned subsidiary, Salisbury Bank and Trust Company (the "Bank"). In the opinion of management, the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position of Salisbury and the consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for the interim periods presented.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). In preparing the financial statements, management is required to make extensive use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet, and revenues and expenses for the period. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the determination of the allowance for loan losses, other-than-temporary impairment of securities and impairment of goodwill and intangibles.

Certain financial information, which is normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, but which is not required for interim reporting purposes, has been condensed or omitted. Operating results for the interim period ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019. The accompanying condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in Salisbury's 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The allowance for loan losses is a significant accounting policy and is presented in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and in Management's Discussion and Analysis, which provides information on how significant assets are valued in the financial statements and how those values are determined. Based on the valuation techniques used and the sensitivity of financial statement amounts to the methods, assumptions and estimates underlying those amounts, management has identified the determination of the allowance for loan losses to be the accounting area that requires the most subjective judgments, and as such could be most subject to revision as new information becomes available.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)”. Under the new guidance, lessees are required to recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases): (1) a lease liability, which is the present value of a lessee's obligation to make lease payments, and (2) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Lessor accounting under the new guidance remains largely unchanged as it is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases, and operating leases. Leveraged leases have been eliminated, although lessors can continue to account for existing leveraged leases using the current accounting guidance. Other limited changes were made to align lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and the new revenue recognition standard. All entities will classify leases to determine how to recognize lease-related revenue and expense. Quantitative and qualitative disclosures are required by lessees and lessors to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The intention is to require enough information to supplement the amounts recorded in the financial statements so that users can understand more about the nature of an entity's leasing activities. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10 which provided technical corrections to the new lease standard. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 Leases – Targeted Improvements, to provide entities with relief from the costs of implementing certain aspects of the new leasing standard. Specifically, under the amendments in ASU 2018-11, entities may elect not to recast the comparative periods presented when transitioning to the new lease standard. ASU 2018-11 has the same effective date as ASU 2016-02 (January 1, 2019 for the Company). Salisbury adopted ASU 2018-11 and elected the transition option. In March 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-01, the transition guidance related to certain interim disclosures provided in the year of adoption. To coincide with the adoption of AU 2016-02, Salisbury elected to early adopt ASU 2019-01 on January 1, 2019. Salisbury's consolidated assets and liabilities increased by approximately $1.6 million due to the recording of operating leases as a result of adopting ASU 2016-02 effective January 1, 2019. See also Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statement for further information.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which adds a new Topic 326 to the Codification and removes the thresholds that companies apply to measure credit losses on financial instruments measured at amortized cost, such as loans, receivables, and held-to-maturity debt securities. Under current U.S. GAAP, companies generally recognize credit losses when it is probable that the loss has been incurred. The revised guidance will remove all recognition thresholds and will require companies to recognize an allowance for credit losses for the difference between the amortized cost basis of a financial instrument and the amount of amortized cost that the company expects to collect over the instrument's contractual life. ASU 2016-13 also amends the credit loss measurement guidance for available-for-sale debt securities and beneficial interests in securitized financial assets. The guidance in ASU 2016-13 is effective for “public business entities,” as defined, that are SEC filers for fiscal years and for interim periods with those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04 which clarified the treatment of accrued interest when measuring credit losses. Entities may: (1) measure the allowance for credit losses on accrued interest receivable balances separately from other components of the amortized cost basis of associated financial assets; (2) make various accounting policy elections regarding the treatment of accrued interest receivable; or (3) elect a practical expedient to disclose separately the total amount of accrued interest included in the amortized cost basis as a single balance to meet certain disclosure requirements. ASU 2019-04 also clarified that expected recoveries of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off should be included in the valuation account and should not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously written off and expected to be written off by the entity. In addition, for collateral dependent financial assets, the amendments clarify that an allowance for credit losses that is added to the amortized cost basis of the financial asset(s) should not exceed amounts previously written off. On October 16, 2019 the FASB formally delayed the implementation of this standard for smaller reporting companies to years beginning after December 15, 2022, although early adoption is permitted. Salisbury meets the definition of a smaller reporting company because its public float is less than $250 million. Upon adoption, Salisbury will apply the standard's provisions as a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. Salisbury anticipates that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 will impact the consolidated financial statements as it relates to the balance in the allowance for loan losses and the Bank will continue to evaluate the extent of the impact.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” This ASU is intended to allow companies to simplify how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The FASB is researching whether similar amendments should be considered for other entities, including public business entities. ASU 2017-04 is effective for public business entities that are SEC filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. Entities should apply the guidance prospectively. Salisbury is currently evaluating the provisions of ASU 2017-04 to determine the potential impact the new standard will have on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, “Receivables—Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.” This ASU will amend the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. The Board is shortening the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. Under previous generally accepted accounting principles, entities generally amortized the premium as an adjustment of yield over the contractual life of the instrument. On January 1, 2019, the Bank adopted the new standard, which did not have a material impact on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-03, “Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. Among the changes, entities will no longer be required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, but will be required to disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2018-03 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; early adoption is permitted. As ASU 2018-13 only revises disclosure requirements, it will not have a material impact on Salisbury's Consolidated Financial Statements.