Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Toll Brothers, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a Delaware corporation, and its majority owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Investments in 50% or less owned partnerships and affiliates are accounted for using the equity method unless it is determined that we have effective control of the entity, in which case we would consolidate the entity.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information. The October 31, 2019 balance sheet amounts and disclosures included herein have been derived from our October 31, 2019 audited financial statements. Since the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements, they should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019 (“2019 Form 10-K”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly our financial position as of April 30, 2020; the results of our operations and changes in equity for the six-month and three-month periods ended April 30, 2020 and 2019; and our cash flows for the six-month periods ended April 30, 2020 and 2019. The results of operations for such interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Use of Estimates - The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. In times of economic disruption when uncertainty regarding future economic conditions is heightened, these estimates and assumptions are subject to greater variability. The Company is currently subject to risks and uncertainties resulting from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has adversely impacted our results of operations in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, and is likely to continue to impact our results of operations as well as our business operations. As a result, actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions we make that affect the amounts reported in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes, and such differences may be material.

Revenue Recognition

Home sales revenues: Revenues and cost of revenues from home sales are recognized at the time each home is delivered and title and possession are transferred to the buyer. For the majority of our home closings, our performance obligation to deliver a home is satisfied in less than one year from the date a binding sale agreement is signed. In certain states where we build, we are not able to complete certain outdoor features prior to the closing of the home. To the extent these separate performance obligations are not complete upon the home closing, we defer a portion of the home sales revenues related to these obligations and subsequently recognize the revenue upon completion of such obligations. As of April 30, 2020, the home sales revenues and related costs we deferred related to these obligations were immaterial. Our contract liabilities, consisting of deposits received from customers for sold but undelivered homes, totaled $419.7 million and $385.6 million at April 30, 2020 and October 31, 2019, respectively. Of the outstanding customer deposits held as of October 31, 2019, we recognized $176.7 million and $91.0 million in home sales revenues during the six months and three months ended April 30, 2020, respectively.

Land sales revenues: Our revenues from land sales generally consist of: (1) lot sales to third-party builders within our master planned communities; (2) land sales to joint ventures in which we retain an interest; and (3) bulk sales to third parties of land we have decided no longer meets our development criteria. In general, our performance obligation for each of these land sales is fulfilled upon the delivery of the land, which generally coincides with the receipt of cash consideration from the counterparty. For land sale transactions that contain repurchase options, revenues and related costs are not recognized until the repurchase option expires. In addition, when we sell land to a joint venture in which we retain an interest, we do not recognize revenue or gains on the sale to the extent of our retained interest in such joint venture.

Forfeited Customer Deposits: Forfeited customer deposits are recognized in “Home sales revenues” in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income in the period in which we determine that the customer will not complete the purchase of the home and we have the right to retain the deposit.

Sales Incentives: In order to promote sales of our homes, we may offer our home buyers sales incentives. These incentives vary by type and amount on a community-by-community and home-by-home basis. Incentives are reflected as a reduction in home sales revenues. Incentives are recognized at the time the home is delivered to the home buyer and we receive the sales proceeds.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (“ASU 2016-02”), which requires an entity to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by leased assets and provide additional disclosures. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-11, “Leases: Targeted Improvements” (“ASU 2018-11”), which provides an entity with the option to apply the transition provisions of the new standard at its adoption date instead of at its earliest comparative period presented. ASU 2018-11 also provides an entity with a practical expedient that permits lessors to not separate nonlease components from the associated lease component if certain conditions are met. ASU 2016-02, as amended by ASU 2018-11, became effective for our fiscal year beginning November 1, 2019, and we adopted the new standard using a modified retrospective approach. The prior year period was not recast and our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of October 31, 2019 does not reflect any changes resulting from the adoption of the new standard. We elected to apply the transition provisions that allow us to carry forward our historical assessment of (1) whether contracts are or contain leases, (2) lease classification, and (3) initial direct costs. In addition, we elected the practical expedient that allows lessees the option to account for lease and non-lease components together as a single component for all classes of underlying assets. As a result of the adoption, we recorded a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and lease liability of $114.5 million and $118.5 million, respectively, as of November 1, 2019. The ROU asset is included in “Receivables, prepaid expenses, and other assets” and the corresponding lease liability is included in “Accrued expenses” in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. The adoption of ASU 2016-02 had no impact on retained earnings and did not materially impact our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income or Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to estimate credit losses. ASU 2016-13 will be effective for our fiscal year beginning November 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted as of November 1, 2019. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 may have on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.