George recently received a great stock tip from his friend, Mason. George didn’t have any cash on hand to invest, so he decided to take out a $20,000 loan to facilitate the stock acquisition. The loan terms are 8 percent interest with interest-only payments due each year for five years. At the end of the five-year period the entire loan principal is due. When George closed on the loan on April 1, 2015, he decided to invest $16,000 in stock and to use the remaining $4,000 to purchase a four-wheel recreation vehicle. George is unsure how he will treat the interest paid on the $20,000 loan. In 2015, George paid $1,200 interest expense on the loan. (Hint: Visit www.irs.gov and consider IRS Publication 550.)
What amount may he deduct as interest in 2015?

As per the provision of IRS (reference to 550), any amount of interest due towards money borrowed for investment purposes (also known as investment interest) can be claimed as a deduction. Therefore, it becomes important to allocate the total amount of loan/borrowing between the amount utilized for personal/business purposes and investment purposes.

In the given case, George has borrowed $20,000, out of which $16,000 has been used for investment purposes, that is, 80% (16,000/20,000*100%), while the remaining 20% (4,000/20,000*100) is used for personal purposes (purchase of four-wheel recreation vehicle). Out of the total interest of $1,200 (20,000*8%*9/12) due on the amount borrowed, $960 (1,200*80%) can be claimed as deduction (in the form of investment interest). The remaining $240 cannot be claimed as deduction.

Therefore, The amount may he deduct as interest in 2015 is $960.