Listed

Current liabilities

Obligations a company must settle within a year, on the balance sheet date.

Updated Oct 17, 2026

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Contents, 3 sections
  1. How Listed shows it
  2. Reading it
  3. When it says "not reported"

Current liabilities are obligations due within a year, or within the operating cycle if that is longer: amounts owed to suppliers, wages and taxes payable, the current portion of long-term debt, short-term borrowings, and payments customers have made for things not yet delivered (deferred revenue).

How Listed shows it

As reported, the total of the current section of the balance sheet: LiabilitiesCurrent, or CurrentLiabilities for IFRS filers. It is the denominator of the current ratio.

Reading it

Deferred revenue is a liability, but it is settled by delivering a service, not by paying cash. A subscription business with large deferred revenue can have high current liabilities without a cash problem.

When it says "not reported"

Banks, insurers and some other financial companies present an unclassified balance sheet with no current subtotal.

All terms

Related terms

  • Current assetsAssets a company expects to turn into cash, sell or use up within a year, on the balance sheet date.
  • Current ratioCurrent assets divided by current liabilities, on the same balance sheet date.
  • Total debtLong-term debt, its current portion and short-term borrowings, as reported, added together.

Guides that use it

No guide links to this term yet.