<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?><InstanceReport xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><Version>2.4.0.8</Version><ReportLongName>107 - Disclosure - SHORT-TERM DEBT</ReportLongName><DisplayLabelColumn>true</DisplayLabelColumn><ShowElementNames>false</ShowElementNames><RoundingOption /><HasEmbeddedReports>false</HasEmbeddedReports><Columns><Column FlagID="0"><Id>1</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>false</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><CurrencyCode /><FootnoteIndexer /><hasSegments>false</hasSegments><hasScenarios>false</hasScenarios><MCU><KeyName /><CurrencySymbol /><contextRef><ContextID>P01_01_2013To06_30_2013</ContextID><EntitySchema>http://www.sec.gov/CIK</EntitySchema><EntityValue>0001397183</EntityValue><PeriodDisplayName /><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><PeriodStartDate>2013-01-01T00:00:00</PeriodStartDate><PeriodEndDate>2013-06-30T00:00:00</PeriodEndDate><Segments /><Scenarios /></contextRef><UPS /><CurrencyCode /><OriginalCurrencyCode /></MCU><CurrencySymbol /><Labels><Label Key="CalendarSupplement" Id="0" Label="6 Months Ended" /><Label Key="Calendar" Id="1" Label="Jun. 30, 2013" /></Labels></Column></Columns><Rows><Row FlagID="0"><Id>1</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>true</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><Level>1</Level><ElementName>us-gaap_DebtDisclosureAbstract</ElementName><ElementPrefix>us-gaap_</ElementPrefix><IsBaseElement>true</IsBaseElement><BalanceType>na</BalanceType><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle><IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle><IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle><IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow><IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow><IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance><IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance><IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign><FootnoteIndexer /><Cells><Cell FlagID="0" ContextID="" UnitID=""><Id>1</Id><IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric><IsRatio>false</IsRatio><DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone><NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount><RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount><NonNumbericText /><FootnoteIndexer /><CurrencyCode /><CurrencySymbol /><IsIndependantCurrency>false</IsIndependantCurrency><ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol><DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat></Cell></Cells><ElementDataType>xbrli:stringItemType</ElementDataType><SimpleDataType>string</SimpleDataType><IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel><UnitID>0</UnitID><Label>Debt Disclosure [Abstract]</Label></Row><Row FlagID="0"><Id>2</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>false</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><Level>2</Level><ElementName>ivda_BankLoansShortTermTextBlock</ElementName><ElementPrefix>ivda_</ElementPrefix><IsBaseElement>false</IsBaseElement><BalanceType>na</BalanceType><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle><IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle><IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle><IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow><IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow><IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance><IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance><IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign><PreferredLabelRole>verboseLabel</PreferredLabelRole><FootnoteIndexer /><Cells><Cell FlagID="0" ContextID="P01_01_2013To06_30_2013" UnitID=""><Id>1</Id><IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric><IsRatio>false</IsRatio><DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone><NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount><RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount><NonNumbericText>              &lt;table border="0" style="clear:both;width:100%; table-layout:fixed;"&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;/table&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif "&gt;  &lt;table style="clear:both;MARGIN-TOP: 0px; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"   cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"&gt;  &lt;tr style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; WIDTH: 0.75in"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NOTE  2&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SHORT-TERM  DEBT&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;/table&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0pt 0px; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  &amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 0.75in; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  The Company has short term loans with two banks in Asia. The loans  bear interest from &lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;3.24&lt;/font&gt;% to  &lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;5.82&lt;/font&gt;% and are due in  September &lt;font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"&gt;and  December&lt;/font&gt; of 2013. The Company has chosen not to use its  excess cash to pay off these loans early since the interest rate is  relatively low and they are due in the near future.&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0pt 0px; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-ALIGN:Left; TEXT-INDENT: 0in; WIDTH: 100%"&gt;  &lt;table style="clear:both;BORDER-BOTTOM: #9eb6ce 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #9eb6ce 0px solid; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0in 0.75in; WIDTH: 85%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; OVERFLOW: visible; BORDER-TOP: #9eb6ce 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #9eb6ce 0px solid"   cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"&gt;  &lt;tr style="HEIGHT: 12px"&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="70%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;Note Payable, 10% interest per annum, maturing on December 7,  2013&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;$&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="12%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;77,000&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;    &lt;tr style="HEIGHT: 12px"&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="70%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;Note Payable, 10% interest per annum, maturing on December 20,  2013&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="12%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;10,000&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;    &lt;tr style="HEIGHT: 12px"&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="70%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;Short-term bank loans&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: right; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="12%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;352,052&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ccffcc; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;    &lt;tr style="HEIGHT: 12px"&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="70%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;Total Short-Term Debt&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 3px double; TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;$&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 3px double; TEXT-ALIGN: right; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; BORDER-TOP: #000000 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="12%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;439,052&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; BACKGROUND: #ffffff; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"   width="1%"&gt;  &lt;div&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;/table&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0pt 0px; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 55.5pt; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"   align="justify"&gt;The holder of the $77,000 note is entitled to  subscribe for a purchase &lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;  7,000&lt;/font&gt; warrant shares at an exercise price of $1.50 per  share. The holder of the $10,000 note is entitled to subscribe for  a purchase 909 warrant shares at an exercise price of $1.50 per  share.&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 55.5pt; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"   align="justify"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;TEXT-INDENT: 0in; MARGIN: 0in; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"   align="justify"&gt;  &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 0.75in; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  During the quarter, the $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;50,000&lt;/font&gt; debenture was converted at a price  of $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;1&lt;/font&gt; per share, and a loss  on conversion of debt was recorded totaling $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;27,500&lt;/font&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 0.75in; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  &amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div style="clear:both; FONT-FAMILY:Times New Roman;FONT-SIZE: 10pt;MARGIN: 0pt 0px 0pt 0.75in; FONT: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"&gt;  During the first quarter, the $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;45,000&lt;/font&gt; note was extinguished, with $&lt;font  style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;15,000&lt;/font&gt; being paid in cash and  $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;30,000&lt;/font&gt; being converted at a  price of $&lt;font style=" FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;1&lt;/font&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;        </NonNumbericText><FootnoteIndexer /><CurrencyCode /><CurrencySymbol /><IsIndependantCurrency>false</IsIndependantCurrency><ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol><DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat></Cell></Cells><ElementDataType>nonnum:textBlockItemType</ElementDataType><SimpleDataType>na</SimpleDataType><ElementDefenition>The entire disclosure for short-term bank loans.</ElementDefenition><ElementReferences>No definition available.</ElementReferences><IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel><UnitID>0</UnitID><Label>Bank Loans Short-term [Text Block]</Label></Row></Rows><Footnotes /><IsEquityReport>false</IsEquityReport><ReportName>SHORT-TERM DEBT</ReportName><MonetaryRoundingLevel>UnKnown</MonetaryRoundingLevel><SharesRoundingLevel>UnKnown</SharesRoundingLevel><PerShareRoundingLevel>UnKnown</PerShareRoundingLevel><ExchangeRateRoundingLevel>UnKnown</ExchangeRateRoundingLevel><HasCustomUnits>true</HasCustomUnits><IsEmbedReport>false</IsEmbedReport><IsMultiCurrency>false</IsMultiCurrency><ReportType>Sheet</ReportType><RoleURI>http://www.ivedasolutions.com/role/ShorttermDebt</RoleURI><NumberOfCols>1</NumberOfCols><NumberOfRows>2</NumberOfRows></InstanceReport>
