The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations regarding the provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that limits the deduction for business interest expense, including basic statutory amendments made by the CARES Act.

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, business interest expense deductions are generally limited to the sum of:

  • The taxpayer’s business interest income;
  • Thirty percent (or 50 percent, as applicable) of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income; and
  • The taxpayer’s floor plan financing interest expense.

The business interest expense deduction limitation does not apply to certain small businesses whose gross receipts are $26 million or less, electing real property trades or businesses, electing farming businesses, and certain regulated public utilities. The $26 million gross receipts threshold applies for the 2020 tax year and will be adjusted annually for inflation.

A real property trade or business or a farming business may elect to be excepted from the business interest expense limitation. However, taxpayers cannot claim the additional first-year depreciation deduction for certain types of property held by the electing trade or business.

Taxpayers use Form 8990, Limitation on Business Interest Expense Under Section 163(j), to calculate and report their deduction and the amount of disallowed business interest expense to carry forward to the next tax year.

Along with the final regulations, the IRS issued the following additional items of guidance related to the business interest expense deduction limitation:

  • Proposed Regulations that provide additional guidance on various business interest expense deduction limitation issues not addressed in the final regulations, including more complex issues related to the amendments made by the CARES Act. Subject to certain restrictions, taxpayers may rely on some of the rules in these proposed regulations until final regulations implementing the proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register. Written or electronic comments and requests for a public hearing on these proposed regulations must be received within 60 days of date of filing for public inspection with the Federal Register.
  • Notice 2020-59, which contains a proposed revenue procedure with a safe harbor for a trade or business that manages or operates a qualified residential living facility to be treated as a real property trade or business solely for purposes of qualifying as an electing real property trade or business under section 163(j)(7)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. Written or electronic comments on the proposed revenue procedure must be received no later than Monday, Sept. 28, 2020.
  • Aggregation FAQs, which provide a general overview of the aggregation rules that apply for purposes of the gross receipts test, and that apply to determine whether a taxpayer is a small business that is exempt from the business interest expense deduction limitation.