Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Procedures and Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Procedures and Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Principles of Consolidation

A.  The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Realty Income and other entities for which we make operating and financial decisions (i.e., control), after elimination of all material intercompany balances and transactions.  We consolidate entities that we control and record a noncontrolling interest for the portion that we do not own.  Noncontrolling interest that was created or assumed as part of a business combination was recognized at fair value as of the date of the transaction (see note 11).  We have no unconsolidated investments.

Federal Income Taxes

B.  We have elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. We believe we have qualified and continue to qualify as a REIT. Under the REIT operating structure, we are permitted to deduct dividends paid to our stockholders in determining our taxable income.  Assuming our dividends equal or exceed our net income, we generally will not be required to pay federal corporate income taxes on such income. Accordingly, no provision has been made for federal income taxes in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, except for federal income taxes of our taxable REIT subsidiaries. The income taxes recorded on our consolidated statements of income represent amounts paid by Realty Income for city and state income and franchise taxes.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

C.  We recognize an allowance for doubtful accounts relating to accounts receivable for amounts deemed uncollectible. We consider tenant specific issues, such as financial stability and ability to pay rent, when determining collectability of accounts receivable and appropriate allowances to record.  The allowance for doubtful accounts was $607,000 at September 30, 2015 and $765,000 at December 31, 2014.

Goodwill

D.  We assign a portion of goodwill to our applicable property sales, which results in a reduction of the carrying amount of our goodwill. In order to allocate goodwill to the carrying amount of properties that we sell, we utilize a relative fair value approach based on the original methodology for assigning goodwill.  As we sell properties, our goodwill will likely continue to gradually decrease over time.  During our tests for impairment of goodwill during the second quarters of 2015 and 2014, we determined that the estimated fair values of our reporting units exceeded their carrying values.  We did not have an impairment on our existing goodwill in 2015 or 2014.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

E.  In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued ASU 2015-03, which amends Topic 835, Other Presentation Matters. The amendments in this ASU require that debt issuance costs be reported on the balance sheet as a direct reduction of the face amount of the debt instrument they relate to, and should not be classified as a deferred charge, as was previously required under the Accounting Standards Codification.  ASU 2015-03 is effective, on a retrospective basis, for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015; early adoption is permitted.  We have not yet adopted this ASU and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In September 2015, FASB, issued ASU 2015-16, which amends Topic 805, Business Combinations. The amendments in this ASU require that we recognize purchase price allocation adjustments that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined, and eliminate the requirement to retrospectively account for these adjustments.  ASU 2015-16 is effective, on a prospective basis, for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015; early adoption is permitted.  We have chosen to early adopt ASU 2015-16 for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2015 and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.