Marginal After-Tax Cost of Debt Calculation | CFA Level 1 Exam

Marginal After-Tax Cost of Debt Calculation

Prev Question Next Question

Question

A firm currently has 3 million dollars worth of 6% debt outstanding. It can currently borrow in the capital markets at the rate of 7.2%. The firm faces a 40% tax rate.

Its marginal after-tax cost of debt is about:

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

D

Since debt interest is tax-deductible, the after-tax cost of debt equals 7.2%*(1-40%) = 4.32%. Note that bonds issued in the past are of no relevance since it is the current cost of borrowing that is of concern.