Form 7203 HELP

[bropro]

I cannot figure out what lines 21 or 23 should be of the 7203 form. Please don't refer me to the IRS how-to, I've read it and still don't understand. 

What's throwing me off is line 16 asks "Loan balance at the beginning of the corporation's tax year" and Line 21 says "Debt basis at the beginning of the corporation's ax year." If I only have 1 outstanding loan to the business, would line 21 be the same at 16??

[AliciaP1]

Not necessarily.  Lines 16 - 20 are used to determine the loan's book balance each year.  If any loan has a balance over $25,000 at the end of the year, it is automatically considered a Formal Note even if no loan agreement exists.  Lines 21 - 31 are used to calculate your debt basis which does not include certain non-deductible expenses.

Line 23 is used to report increased basis if line 21 is less than line 16.  The increase amounts are reported from your increases in stock basis.