Capitalized Leases

Question: Is the capitalized lease of a large piece of equipment subject to overhead or not?

OMB Circular A-87:
d. Rental costs under leases which are required to be treated as capital leases under GAAP are allowable only up to the amount that would be allowed had the governmental unit purchased the property on the date the lease agreement was executed. This amount would include expenses such as depreciation or use allowance, maintenance, and insurance. The provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement 13 shall be used to determine whether a lease is a capital lease. Interest costs related to capital leases are allowable to the extent they meet the criteria in section 26.

FASB:

Summary of Statement No. 13
Accounting for Leases
(Issued 11/76)
Summary

This Statement establishes standards of financial accounting and reporting for leases by lessees and lessors. For lessees, a lease is a financing transaction called a capital lease if it meets any one of four specified criteria; if not, it is an operating lease. Capital leases are treated as the acquisition of assets and the incurrence of obligations by the lessee. Operating leases are treated as current operating expenses. For lessors, a financing transaction lease is classified as a sales-type, direct financing, or leveraged lease. To be a sales-type,direct financing, or leveraged lease, the lease must meet one of the same criteria used for lessees to classify a lease as a capital lease, in addition to two criteria dealing with future uncertainties. Leveraged leases also have to meet further criteria. These types of leases are recorded as investments under different specifications for each type of lease. Leases not meeting the criteria are considered operating leases and are accounted for like rental property.

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