Deferred tax

Accounting.

An accounting concept that arises to match the income and expenditure in a set of financial accounts with their related tax effects, by comparing for example the net book value of fixed assets and their respective Tax written down values.

Deferred tax relates to the estimated future tax consequences of transactions and events that have been entered into at the balance sheet date. Deferred tax relates to the difference between the 'accounting' and 'tax' balance sheets.

A simple example of a deferred tax asset is a tax loss eligible for carry forward to shelter expected future taxable profits. In this case the expected future tax saving would be an asset/benefit recognised in the current balance sheet.

See also

• Tax written down value