On 14 September 2020, the US IRS published the final regulations for the business interest expense deduction limitation published in the Federal Register. The final regulations vary slightly from the document released on IRS.gov on July 28, 2020.
Under Sec. 163(j), for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, business interest expense deductions are limited to the sum of:
- The taxpayer’s business interest income;
- 30% (or 50% for 2019 and 2020, as amended by the CARES Act) of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income (ATI); and
- The taxpayer’s floor plan financing interest expense.
The Treasury Department and the IRS released a version of the final regulations on the business interest expense deduction limitation on IRS.gov on July 28, 2020. The version released on IRS.gov contains a disclaimer that the document had been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register for publication, and notes that the version of the final regulations may vary slightly from the document published in the Federal Register.
The version of the final regulations published in the Federal Register contains minor editorial changes. In response to questions from taxpayers and practitioners, the final regulations published in the Federal Register clarify that taxpayers may rely on the final regulations for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, provided that certain conditions are met.
The document published in the Federal Register is the official document.
