How to Answer: What is deferred tax liability and what is its purpose?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Finance job interview.
3. What is deferred tax liability and what is its purpose?
How to Answer
On a balance sheet, a tax that a company will owe on its income, but that has not yet been assessed. Because of differences between tax regulations and the GAAP, income may be recognized on a balance sheet for accounting purposes, but not for tax purposes. However, that income will eventually be recognized for tax purposes and income tax will then be assessed. This tax is called deferred income tax, and is recorded as a liability on the balance sheet.
Written by Bobbi Witt
Entry Level
"A deferred tax liability is a tax that is assessed or is due for the current period but has not yet been paid. The deferral comes from the difference in timing between when the tax is accrued and when the tax is paid. A deferred tax liability records the fact the company will, in the future, pay more income tax because of a transaction that took place during the current period, such as an installment sale receivable."
Written by Bobbi Witt
Experience
"Deferred Tax Liability (DTL) is reported on a firm's balance sheet and represents the net difference between the taxes that are paid in the current accounting period and the taxes that will be paid in the next accounting period. The liability occurs when the accounting income is greater than the taxable income.
For an example, a company is allowed to defer taxes on a percentage of its income and report this amount as a DTL on its balance sheet. When the tax is due, there will be an equal amount reduction in the DTL item and the cash and cash equivalents account on the balance sheet. In other words the DTL means an accrued tax on the books because book expenses did not match tax deductions for a particular year."
Written by Bobbi Witt