Confusion Cubed: New Regulations Address Deductions of Business Interest Expense

Tom Peters, the management guru, famously observed, ‘‘If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.’’ Truer words could not be imagined for taxpayers having to apply the limitation on the deduction for business interest expense imposed by §163(j). The provision is mind-numbingly complex and raises more issues than it answers. Lucky for us, however, on July 28, 2020, the Department of the Treasury (the ‘‘Treasury’’) and the IRS sought to answer some of those questions by replacing prior proposed regulations with 575 pages of explanation and final regulations (the ‘‘Final Regulations’’) and 285 pages of new proposed regulations (the ‘‘2020 Proposed Regulations’’). This article provides a selective overview of this new guidance.