Question

C 18-6

Interperiod Tax Allocation

LO 18.2 AICPA Adapted Chris Green, CPA, is auditing Rayne Co.'s 2016 financial statements. For the year ended December 31, 2016, Rayne is applying GAAP for income taxes. Rayne's controller, Dunn, has prepared a schedule of all differences between financial statement and income tax return income. Dunn believes that as a result of pending legislation, the enacted tax rate at December 31, 2016, will be increased for 2017. Dunn is uncertain which differences to include and which rates to apply in computing deferred taxes. Dunn has requested an overview of GAAP from Green.

Required:

1. Prepare a brief memo to Dunn from Green that identifies the objectives of accounting for income taxes, defines temporary differences, explains how to measure deferred tax assets and liabilities, and explains how to measure deferred income tax expense or benefit.

Answer 1

A deferred income tax is a liability recorded on a balance sheet resulting from a difference in income recognition between tax laws and the company's accounting methods. For this reason, the company's payable income tax may not equate to the total tax expense reported.

Objectives of Accounting for Income Taxes

The objectives of accounting for income taxes are to recognize (a) the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and (b) deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in an enterprise's financial statements or tax returns.

Temporary Difference

The tax consequences of most events recognized in the financial statements for a year are included in determining income taxes currently payable. However, tax laws often differ from the recognition and measurement requirements of financial accounting standards, and differences can arise between (a) the amount of taxable income and pretax financial income for a year and (b) the tax bases of assets or liabilities and their reported amounts in financial statements

Measurement of a Deferred Tax Liability or Asset

Deferred Tax Liabilities

A deferred tax liability is recognized for temporary differences that will result in taxable amounts in future years. For example, a temporary difference is created between the reported amount and the tax basis of an installment sale receivable if, for tax purposes, some or all of the gain on the installment sale will be included in the determination of taxable income in future years. Because amounts received upon recovery of that receivable will be taxable, a deferred tax liability is recognized in the current year for the related taxes payable in future years.

Deferred Tax Assets

A deferred tax asset is recognized for temporary differences that will result in deductible amounts in future years and for carryforwards. For example, a temporary difference is created between the reported amount and the tax basis of a liability for estimated expenses if, for tax purposes, those estimated expenses are not deductible until a future year. Settlement of that liability will result in tax deductions in future years, and a deferred tax asset is recognized in the current year for the reduction in taxes payable in future years. A valuation allowance is recognized if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

This Statement establishes procedures to (a) measure deferred tax liabilities and assets using a tax rate convention and (b) assess whether a valuation allowance should be established for deferred tax assets. Enacted tax laws and rates are considered in determining the applicable tax rate and in assessing the need for a valuation allowance.

Measurement of Deferred Income tax expense

Deferred tax is the tax effect of timing differences.Taxes on income are considered to be an expense incurred by the enterprise in earning income and are accrued in the same period as the revenue and expenses to which they relate. Such matching may result into timing differences. The tax effects of timing differences are included in the tax expense in the statement of profit and loss