Interest barrier does not include remuneration for other services

Not every payment in connection with a loan has the character of interest and is therefore not affected by the deduction restriction of the interest barrier.

A fee that is not paid for the opportunity to use borrowed capital, but for another service provided by the lender, is not an interest expense that would fall under the deduction restriction of the interest barrier. This was decided by the Federal Fiscal Court in the case of a so-called "arrangement fee", which is used to remunerate separate services over and above the provision of capital and which is calculated on the basis of the contractually agreed loan amount instead of the loan amount actually utilized. According to the ruling, the interest barrier depends solely on whether the remuneration represents consideration for the opportunity to use the borrowed capital from an economic perspective. The designation of the consideration, for example as interest or a fee, is not decisive. The ruling concerns, for example, commitment interest and guarantee fees, as these are not paid for the actual use of borrowed capital.