Current Portion of Long-Term Debt
The amount of a company's long-term debt that must be repaid within the next 12 months, reported as a current liability on the balance sheet.
What is CPLTD?
The current portion of long-term debt (CPLTD) is the section of a company's non-current debt obligations that become due within one year from the balance sheet date. Under GAAP, this amount is reclassified from long-term liabilities to current liabilities each period to reflect upcoming cash obligations accurately. For example, if a company has a $10 million term loan with $1 million due next year, the CPLTD is $1 million (current) and the remaining $9 million stays as long-term debt. Analysts track CPLTD closely because it affects liquidity ratios: a large CPLTD relative to cash and operating cash flow can signal refinancing risk or a liquidity squeeze. Loan covenants, maturity walls, and refinancing risk are assessed partly through CPLTD trends. It must not be confused with regular current liabilities like accounts payable — CPLTD specifically represents principal repayment on debt instruments, not operating obligations.
Example
A manufacturing company has a $50 million term loan due in five equal annual installments of $10 million. On the December 31 balance sheet, $10 million is classified as CPLTD (due within 12 months) and $40 million as long-term debt. If the company's cash balance is only $5 million and operating cash flow is $8 million, the $10 million CPLTD creates significant refinancing pressure that analysts and lenders will scrutinize.