1.263A-9—The avoided cost method.
(a) In general—
(1) Description.
The avoided cost method described in this section must be used to calculate the amount of interest required to be capitalized under section 263A(f). Generally, any interest that the taxpayer theoretically would have avoided if accumulated production expenditures (as defined in § 1.263A-11) had been used to repay or reduce the taxpayer's outstanding debt must be capitalized under the avoided cost method. The application of the avoided cost method does not depend on whether the taxpayer actually would have used the amounts expended for production to repay or reduce debt. Instead, the avoided cost method is based on the assumption that debt of the taxpayer would have been repaid or reduced without regard to the taxpayer's subjective intentions or to restrictions (including legal, regulatory, contractual, or other restrictions) against repayment or use of the debt proceeds.
(2) Overview—
(i) In general.
For each unit of designated property (within the meaning of § 1.263A-8(b) ), the avoided cost method requires the capitalization of—
(ii) Rules that apply in determining amounts.
The traced debt and excess expenditure amounts are determined for each taxable year or shorter computation period that includes the production period (as defined in § 1.263A-12) of a unit of designated property. Paragraph (d) of this section provides an election not to trace debt to specific units of designated property. Paragraph (f) of this section provides rules for selecting the computation period, for calculating averages, and for determining measurement dates within the computation period. Special rules are in paragraph (g) of this section.
(3) Definitions of interest and incurred.
Except as provided in the case of certain expenses that are treated as a substitute for interest under paragraphs (c)(2)(iii) and (g)(2)(iv) of this section, interest refers to all amounts that are characterized as interest expense under any provision of the Code, including, for example, sections 482, 483, 1272, 1274, and 7872. Incurred refers to the amount of interest that is properly accruable during the period of time in question determined by taking into account the loan agreement and any applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue laws and regulations such as section 163, § 1.446-2, and sections 1271 through 1275.
(4) Definition of eligible debt.
Except as provided in this paragraph (a)(4), eligible debt includes all outstanding debt (as evidenced by a contract, bond, debenture, note, certificate, or other evidence of indebtedness). Eligible debt does not include—
(i)
Debt (or the portion thereof) bearing interest that is disallowed under a provision described in § 1.163-8T(m)(7)(ii) ;
(ii)
Debt, such as accounts payable and other accrued items, that bears no interest, except to the extent that such debt is traced debt (as defined in paragraph (b)(2) of this section);
(iii)
Debt that is borrowed directly or indirectly from a person related to the taxpayer and that bears a rate of interest that is less than the applicable Federal rate in effect under section 1274(d) on the date of issuance;
(iv)
Debt (or the portion thereof) bearing personal interest within the meaning of section 163(h)(2) ;
(v)
Debt (or the portion thereof) bearing qualified residence interest within the meaning of section 163(h)(3) ;
(vi)
Debt incurred by an organization that is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(a), except to the extent interest on such debt is directly attributable to an unrelated trade or business of the organization within the meaning of section 512 ;
(vii)
Reserves, deferred tax liabilities, and similar items that are not treated as debt for Federal income tax purposes, regardless of the extent to which the taxpayer's applicable financial accounting or other regulatory reporting principles require or support treating these items as debt;
(viii)
Federal, State, and local income tax liabilities, deferred tax liabilities under section 453A, and hypothetical tax liabilities under the look-back method of section 460(b) or similar provisions; and
(ix)
A purchase money obligation given by the lessor to the lessee (or a party that is related to the lessee) in a sale and leaseback transaction involving an agreement qualifying as a lease under § 5c.168(f)(8)-1 through § 5c.168(f)(8)-1 1 of this chapter. See § 5c.168(f)(8)-1(e)
Example (2) of this chapter.
(b) Traced debt amount—
(1) General rule.
Interest must be capitalized with respect to a unit of designated property in an amount (the traced debt amount) equal to the total interest incurred on the traced debt during each measurement period (as defined in paragraph (f)(2)(ii) of this section) that ends on a measurement date described in paragraph (f)(2)(iii) of this section. See the example in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. If any interest incurred on the traced debt is not taken into account for the taxable year that includes the measurement period because of a deferral provision, see paragraph (g)(2) of this section for the time and manner for capitalizing and recovering that amount. This paragraph (b)(1) does not apply if the taxpayer elects under paragraph (d) of this section not to trace debt.
(2) Identification and definition of traced debt.
On each measurement date described in paragraph (f)(2)(iii) of this section, the taxpayer must identify debt that is traced debt with respect to a unit of designated property. On each such date, traced debt with respect to a unit of designated property is the outstanding eligible debt (as defined in paragraph (a)(4) of this section) that is allocated, on that date, to accumulated production expenditures with respect to the unit of designated property under the rules of § 1.163-8T. Traced debt also includes unpaid interest that has been capitalized with respect to such unit under paragraph (b)(1) of this section and that is included in accumulated production expenditures on the measurement date.
(3) Example.
The provisions of paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section are illustrated by the following example.
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(c) Excess expenditure amount—
(1) General rule.
If there are accumulated production expenditures in excess of traced debt with respect to a unit of designated property on any measurement date described in paragraph (f)(2)(iii) of this section, the taxpayer must, for the computation period that includes the measurement date, capitalize with respect to this unit the excess expenditure amount calculated under this paragraph (c)(1). However, if the sum of the excess expenditure amounts for all units of designated property of a taxpayer exceeds the total interest described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, only a prorata amount (as determined under paragraph (c)(7) of this section) of such interest must be capitalized with respect to each unit. For each unit of designated property, the excess expenditure amount for a computation period equals the product of—
(i)
The average excess expenditures (as determined under paragraph (c)(5)(ii) of this section) for the unit of designated property for that period, and
(ii)
The weighted average interest rate (as determined under paragraph (c)(5)(iii) of this section) for that period.
(2) Interest required to be capitalized.
With respect to an excess expenditure amount, interest incurred during the computation period is capitalized from the following sources and in the following sequence but not in excess of the excess expenditure amount for all units of designated property:
(ii)
Interest incurred on borrowings described in paragraph (a)(4)(iii) of this section (relating to certain borrowings from related persons); and
(iii)
In the case of a partnership, guaranteed payments for the use of capital (within the meaning of section 707(c)) that would be deductible by the partnership if section 263A(f) did not apply.
(3) Example.
The provisions of paragraph (c)(1) and (2) of this section are illustrated by the following example.
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(4) Treatment of interest subject to a deferral provision.
If any interest described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section is not taken into account for the taxable year that includes the computation period because of a deferral provision described in paragraph (g)(1)(ii) of this section, paragraph (c)(2) of this section is first applied without regard to the amount of the deferred interest. After applying paragraph (c)(2) without regard to the deferred interest, if the amount of interest capitalized with respect to all units of designated property for the computation period is less than the amount that would have been capitalized if a deferral provision did not apply, see paragraph (g)(2) of this section for the time and manner for capitalizing and recovering the difference (the shortfall amount).
(5) Definitions—
(i) Nontraced debt—
Defined. Nontraced debt means all eligible debt on a measurement date other than any debt that is treated as traced debt with respect to any unit of designated property on that measurement date. For example, nontraced debt includes eligible debt that is allocated to expenditures that are not capitalized under section 263A(a) (e.g., expenditures deductible under section 174(a) or 263(c) ). Similarly, even if eligible debt is allocated to a production expenditure for a unit of designated property, the debt is included in nontraced debt on measurement dates before the first or after the last measurement date for that unit of designated property. Thus, nontraced debt may include debt that was previously treated as traced debt or that will be treated as traced debt on a future measurement date.
(B) Example.
The provisions of paragraph (c)(5)(i)(A) of this section are illustrated by the following example.
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(ii) Average excess expenditures—
(A) General rule.
The average excess expenditures for a unit of designated property for a computation period are computed by—
(1) Determining the amount (if any) by which accumulated production expenditures exceed traced debt at each measurement date during the computation period; and
(2) Dividing the sum of these amounts by the number of measurement dates during the computation period.
(B) Example.
The provisions of paragraph (c)(5)(ii)(A) of this section are illustrated by the following example.
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(iii) Weighted average interest rate—
(A) Determination of rate.
The weighted average interest rate for a computation period is determined by dividing interest incurred on nontraced debt during the period by average nontraced debt for the period.
(B) Interest incurred on nontraced debt.
Interest incurred on nontraced debt during the computation period is equal to the total amount of interest incurred during the computation period on all eligible debt minus the amount of interest incurred during the computation period on traced debt. Thus, all interest incurred on nontraced debt during the computation period is included in the numerator of the weighted average interest rate, even if the underlying nontraced debt is repaid before the end of a measurement period and excluded from nontraced debt outstanding for measurement dates after repayment, in determining the denominator of the weighted average interest rate. However, see paragraph (g)(7) of this section for an election to treat eligible debt that is repaid within the 15-day period immediately preceding a quarterly measurement date as outstanding on that measurement date. See paragraph (a)(3) of this section for the definitions of interest and incurred.
(1) Determining the amount of nontraced debt outstanding on each measurement date during the computation period; and
(2) Dividing the sum of these amounts by the number of measurement dates during the computation period.
(D) Special rules if taxpayer has no nontraced debt or rate is contingent.
If the taxpayer does not have nontraced debt outstanding during the computation period, the weighted average interest rate for purposes of applying paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section is the highest applicable Federal rate in effect under section 1274(d) during the computation period. If interest is incurred at a rate that is contingent at the time the return for the year that includes the computation period is filed, the amount of interest is determined using the higher of the fixed rate of interest (if any) on the underlying debt or the applicable Federal rate in effect under section 1274(d) on the date of issuance.
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(7) Special rules where the excess expenditure amount exceeds incurred interest—
(i) Allocation of total incurred interest to units.
For a computation period in which the sum of the excess expenditure amounts under paragraph (c)(1) of this section for all units of designated property exceeds the total amount of interest (including deferred interest) available for capitalization, as determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the amount of interest that is allocated to a unit of designated property is equal to the product of—
(A)
The total amount of interest (including deferred interest) available for capitalization, as determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section; and
(B)
A fraction, the numerator of which is the average excess expenditures for the unit of designated property and the denominator of which is the sum of the average excess expenditures for all units of designated property.
(ii) Application of related person rules to average excess expenditure.
Certain excess expenditures must be taken into account by the persons (if any) required to capitalize interest with respect to production expenditures of the taxpayer under applicable related person rules. For each computation period, the amount of average excess expenditures that must be taken into account by such persons for each unit of the taxpayer's property is computed by—
(A)
Determining, for the computation period, the amount (if any) by which the excess expenditure amount for the unit exceeds the amount of interest allocated to the unit under paragraph (c)(7)(i) of this section; and
(iii) Special rule for corporations.
If a corporation is related to another person for the purposes of the applicable related party rules, the District Director upon examination may require that the corporation apply this paragraph (c)(7) and other provisions of the regulations by excluding deferred interest from the total interest available for capitalization.
(d) Election not to trace debt—
(1) General rule.
Taxpayers may elect not to trace debt. If the election is made, the average excess expenditures and weighted average interest rate under paragraph (c)(5) of this section are determined by treating all eligible debt as nontraced debt. For this purpose, debt specified in paragraph (a)(4)(ii) of this section (e.g., accounts payable) may be included in eligible debt, provided it would be treated as traced debt but for an election under this paragraph (d). The election not to trace debt is a method of accounting that applies to the determination of capitalized interest for all designated property of the taxpayer. The making or revocation of the election is a change in method of accounting requiring the consent of the Commissioner under section 446(e) and § 1.446-1(e).
(2) Example.
The provisions of paragraph (d)(1) of this section are illustrated by the following example.
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| Noninterest-bearing accounts payable traced to unit A | $100,000 |
| Noninterest-bearing accounts payable that are not traced to unit A | $300,000 |
| Interest-bearing loans that are eligible debt within the meaning of paragraph (a)(4) of this section | $900,000 |
(e) Election to use external rate—
(1) In general.
An eligible taxpayer may elect to use the highest applicable Federal rate (AFR) under section 1274(d) in effect during the computation period plus 3 percentage points (AFR plus 3) as a substitute for the weighted average interest rate determined under paragraph (c)(5)(iii) of this section. A taxpayer that makes this election may not trace debt. The use of the AFR plus 3 as provided under this paragraph (e)(1) constitutes a method of accounting. A taxpayer makes the election to use the AFR plus 3 method by using the AFR plus 3 as the taxpayer's weighted average interest rate, and any change to the AFR plus 3 method by a taxpayer that has never previously used the method does not require the consent of the Commissioner. Any other change to or from the use of the AFR plus 3 method under this paragraph (e)(1) (other than by reason of a taxpayer ceasing to be an eligible taxpayer) is a change in method of accounting requiring the consent of the Commissioner under section 446(e) and § 1.446-1(e). All changes to or from the AFR plus 3 method are effected on a cut-off basis.
(2) Eligible taxpayer.
A taxpayer is an eligible taxpayer for a taxable year for purposes of this paragraph (e) if the average annual gross receipts of the taxpayer for the three previous taxable years do not exceed $10,000,000 (the $10,000,000 gross receipts test) and the taxpayer has met the $10,000 gross receipts for all prior taxable years beginning after December 31, 1994. For purposes of this paragraph (e)(2), the principles of section 263A(b)(2)(B) and (C) and § 1.263A-3(b) apply in determining whether a taxpayer is an eligible taxpayer for a taxable year.
(f) Selection of computation period and measurement dates and application of averaging conventions—
(1) Computation period—
A taxpayer may (but is not required to) make the avoided cost calculation on the basis of a full taxable year. If the taxpayer uses the taxable year as the computation period, a single avoided cost calculation is made for each unit of designated property for the entire taxable year. If the taxpayer uses a computation period that is shorter than the full taxable year, an avoided cost calculation is made for each unit of designated property for each shorter computation period within the taxable year. If the taxpayer uses a shorter computation period, the computation period may not include portions of more than one taxable year and, except as provided in the case of short taxable years, each computation period within a taxable year must be the same length. In the case of a short taxable year, a taxpayer may treat a period shorter than the taxpayer's regular computation period as the first or last computation period, or as the only computation period for the year if the year is shorter than the taxpayer's regular computation period. A taxpayer must use the same computation periods for all designated property produced during a single taxable year.
(ii) Method of accounting.
The choice of a computation period is a method of accounting. Any change in the computation period is a change in method of accounting requiring the consent of the Commissioner under section 446(e) and § 1.446-1(e).
(iii) Production period beginning or ending during the computation period.
The avoided cost method applies to the production of a unit of designated property on the basis of a full computation period, regardless of whether the production period for the unit of designated property begins or ends during the computation period.
(2) Measurement dates—
(i) In general.
If a taxpayer uses the taxable year as the computation period, measurement dates must occur at quarterly or more frequent regular intervals. If the taxpayer uses computation periods that are shorter than the taxable year, measurement dates must occur at least twice during each computation period and at least four times during the taxable year (or consecutive 12-month period in the case of a short taxable year). The taxpayer must use the same measurement dates for all designated property produced during a computation period. Except in the case of a computation period that differs from the taxpayer's regular computation period by reason of a short taxable year (see paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section), measurement dates must occur at equal intervals during each computation period that falls within a single taxable year. For any computation period that differs from the taxpayer's regular computation period by reason of a short taxable year, the measurement dates used by the taxpayer during that period must be consistent with the principles and purposes of section 263A(f). A taxpayer is permitted to modify the frequency of measurement dates from year to year.
(ii) Measurement period.
For purposes of this section, measurement period means the period that begins on the first day following the preceding measurement date and that ends on the measurement date.
(iii) Measurement dates on which accumulated production expenditures must be taken into account.
The first measurement date on which accumulated production expenditures must be taken into account with respect to a unit of designated property is the first measurement date following the beginning of the production period for the unit of designated property. The final measurement date on which accumulated production expenditures with respect to a unit of designated property must be taken into account is the first measurement date following the end of the production period for the unit of designated property. Accumulated production expenditures with respect to a unit of designated property must also be taken into account on all intervening measurement dates. See § 1.263A-12 to determine when the production period begins and ends.
(iv) More frequent measurement dates.
When in the opinion of the District Director more frequent measurement dates are necessary to determine capitalized interest consistent with the principles and purposes of section 263A(f) for a particular computation period, the District Director may require the use of more frequent measurement dates. If a significant segment of the taxpayer's production activities (the first segment) requires more frequent measurement dates than another significant segment of the taxpayer's production activities, the taxpayer may request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service permitting, for a taxable year and all subsequent taxable years, a segregation of the two segments and, notwithstanding paragraph (f)(2)(i) of this section, the use of the more frequent measurement dates for only the first segment. The request for a ruling must be made in accordance with any applicable rules relating to submissions of ruling requests. The request must be filed on or before the due date (including extensions) of the original Federal income tax return for the first taxable year to which it will apply.
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| No. | Principal | Annual rate (percent) | Period outstanding | Use of proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | 9 | 1/01-9/01 | Unit A. |
| 2 | 2,000,000 | 11 | 6/01-12/31 | Nontraced. |
| Measurement date | Unit A | Unit B |
|---|---|---|
| March 31 | $1,200,000 | $0 |
| June 30 | 1,800,000 | 500,000 |
| Sept. 30 | 0 | 1,000,000 |
| Dec. 31 | 0 | 1,600,000 |
(g) Special rules—
(1) Ordering rules—
Interest must be capitalized under section 263A(f) before the application of section 163(d) (regarding the investment interest limitation), section 163(j) (regarding the limitation on interest paid to a tax-exempt related person), section 266 (regarding the election to capitalize carrying charges), section 469 (regarding the limitation on passive losses), and section 861 (regarding the allocation of interest to United States sources). Any interest that is capitalized under section 263A(f) is not taken into account as interest under those sections. However, in applying section 263A(f) with respect to the excess expenditure amount, the taxpayer must capitalize all interest that is neither investment interest under section 163(d), exempt related person interest under section 163(j), nor passive interest under section 469 before capitalizing any interest that is either investment interest, exempt related person interest, or passive interest. Any interest that is not required to be capitalized after the application of section 263A(f) is then taken into account as interest subject to sections 163(d), 163(j), 266, 469, and 861. If, after the application of section 263A(f), interest is deferred under sections 163(d), 163(j), 266, or 469, that interest is not subject to capitalization under section 263A(f) in any subsequent taxable year.
(ii) Deferral provisions applied before this section.
Interest (including contingent interest) that is subject to a deferral provision described in this paragraph (g)(1)(ii) is subject to capitalization under section 263A(f) only in the taxable year in which it would be deducted if section 263A(f) did not apply. Deferral provisions include sections 163(e)(3), 267, 446, and 461, and all other deferral or limitation provisions that are not described in paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section. In contrast to the provisions of paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section, deferral provisions are applied before the application of section 263A(f).
(2) Application of
(i) In general.
This paragraph (g)(2) describes the time and manner of capitalizing and recovering the deferral amount. The deferral amount for any computation period equals the sum of—
(A)
The amount of interest that is incurred on traced debt that is deferred during the computation period and is not deductible for the taxable year that includes the computation period because of a deferral provision described in paragraph (g)(1)(ii) of this section, and
(ii) Capitalization of deferral amount.
The rules described in paragraph (g)(2)(iii) of this section apply to the deferral amount unless the taxpayer elects under paragraph (g)(2)(iv) of this section to capitalize substitute costs.
(iii) Deferred capitalization.
If the taxpayer does not elect under paragraph (g)(2)(iv) of this section to capitalize substitute costs, deferred interest to which the deferral amount is attributable (determined under any reasonable method) is capitalized in the year or years in which the deferred interest would have been deductible but for the application of section 263A(f) (the capitalization year). For this purpose, any interest that is deferred from a prior computation period is taken into account in subsequent capitalization years in the same order in which the interest was deferred. If a unit of designated property to which previously deferred interest relates is sold before the capitalization year, the deferred interest applicable to that unit of property is taken into account in the capitalization year and treated as if recovered from the sale of the property. If the taxpayer continues to hold, throughout the capitalization year, a unit of depreciable property to which previously deferred interest relates, the adjusted basis and applicable recovery percentages for the unit of property are redetermined for the capitalization year and subsequent years so that the increase in basis is accounted for over the remaining recovery periods beginning with the capitalization year. See Example 2 of paragraph (g)(2)(v) of this section.
(iv) Substitute capitalization—
(A) General rule.
In lieu of deferred capitalization under paragraph (g)(2)(iii) of this section, the taxpayer may elect the substitute capitalization method described in this paragraph (g)(2)(iv). Under this method, the taxpayer capitalizes for the computation period in which interest is incurred and deferred (the deferral period) costs that would be deducted but for this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) (substitute costs). The taxpayer must capitalize an amount of substitute costs equal to the deferral amount for each unit of designated property, or if less, a prorata amount (determined in accordance with the principles of paragraph (c)(7)(i) of this section) of the total substitute costs that would be deducted but for this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) during the deferral period. If the entire deferral amount is capitalized pursuant to this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) in the deferral period, any interest incurred and deferred in the deferral period is neither capitalized nor deducted during the deferral period and, unless subsequently capitalized as a substitute cost under this paragraph (g)(2)(iv), is deductible in the appropriate subsequent period without regard to section 263A(f).
(B) Capitalization of amount carried forward.
If the taxpayer has an insufficient amount of substitute costs in the deferral period, the amount by which substitute costs are insufficient with respect to each unit of designated property is a deferral amount carryforward to succeeding computation periods beginning with the next computation period. In any carryforward year, the taxpayer must capitalize an amount of substitute costs equal to the deferral amount carryforward or, if less, a prorata amount (determined in accordance with the principles of paragraph (c)(7)(i) of this section) of the total substitute costs that would be deducted during the carryforward year or years (the carryforward capitalization year) but for this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) (after applying the substitute cost method of this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) to the production of designated property in the carryforward period). If a unit of designated property to which the deferral amount carryforward relates is sold prior to the carryforward capitalization year, substitute costs applicable to that unit of property are taken into account in the carryforward capitalization year and treated as if recovered from the sale of the property. If the taxpayer continues to hold, throughout the capitalization year, a unit of depreciable property to which a deferral amount carryforward relates, the adjusted basis and applicable recovery percentages for the unit of property are redetermined for the carryforward capitalization year and subsequent years so that the increase in basis is accounted for over the remaining recovery periods beginning with the carryforward capitalization year. See Example 2 of paragraph (g)(2)(v) of this section.
(C) Method of accounting.
The substitute capitalization method under this paragraph (g)(2)(iv) is a method of accounting that applies to all designated property of the taxpayer. A change to or from the substitute capitalization method is a change in method of accounting requiring the consent of the Commissioner under section 446(e) and § 1.446-1(e).
(v) Examples.
The following examples illustrate the application of the avoided cost method when interest is subject to a deferral provision: