(a) This account shall include all property acquired under a finance lease. A lease qualifies as a finance lease when one or more of the following criteria is met:

(1) By the end of the lease term, ownership of the leased property is transferred to the leasee.

(2) The lease contains a bargain purchase option.

(3) The lease term is substantially (75% or more) equal to the estimated useful life of the leased property. However, if the beginning of the lease term falls within the last 25% of the total estimated economic life of the leased property, including earlier years of use, this criterion shall not be used for purposes of classifying the lease.

(4) At the inception of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments, excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs to be paid by the lessor, including any profit thereon, equals or exceeds 90% or more of the fair value of the leased property. However, if the beginning of the lease term falls within the last 25% of the total estimated economic life of the leased property, including earlier years of use, this criterion shall not be used for purposes of classifying the lease.

(b) All other leases are operating leases.

(c) The amounts recorded in this account at the inception of a finance lease shall be equal to the original cost, if known, or to the present value not to exceed fair value, at the beginning of the lease term, of minimum lease payments during the lease term, excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs to be paid by the lessor, together with any profit thereon.

[51 FR 43499, Dec. 2, 1986, as amended at 84 FR 4729, Feb. 19, 2019]


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