By JULIA KAGAN

Reviewed By LEA D. URADU 

编写人：JULIA KAGAN

审核人：LEA D. URADU

What Is Deferred Tax Liability?

什么是递延所得税负债？

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.

递延所得税负债是指本期征收或到期但尚未缴纳的税收。递延税收产生的原因在于应计税收与缴纳税收之间的时间性差异。递延所得税负债表示公司由于本期产生的一笔交易以后需要缴纳更多的所得税，如分期应收账款。

How Deferred Tax Liability Works

了解递延所得税负债

Because U.S. tax laws and accounting rules differ, a company's earnings before taxes on the income statement can be greater than its taxable income on a tax return, giving rise to deferred tax liability on the company's balance sheet. The deferred tax liability represents a future tax payment a company is expected to make to appropriate tax authorities in the future, and it is calculated as the company's anticipated tax rate times the difference between its taxable income and accounting earnings before taxes.

由于美国的税法和会计准则不同，公司损益表中的税前利润可以高于纳税申报表中的应税所得，从而形成资产负债表中的递延所得税负债。递延所得税负债表示公司预计在未来期间向税务机构缴纳的税费，计算方式为：预期税率×应税所得与税前会计利润的差额。

Simplifying Deferred Tax Liability

简化递延所得税负债

A simple way to define the deferred tax liability is the amount of taxes a company has "underpaid"—which will (eventually) be made up in the future. By saying it has underpaid doesn't necessarily mean that it hasn't fulfilled its tax obligations, rather it is recognizing that the obligation is paid on a different timetable.  

简单来说，递延所得税负债是指公司未足额缴纳且将在未来期间（最终）缴纳的税费。此处“未足额缴纳”并不是说公司未履行纳税义务，而是指在不同的时间纳税。

For example, a company that earned net income for the year knows it will have to pay corporate income taxes. Because the tax liability applies to the current year, it must also reflect an expense for the same period. But the tax will not actually be paid until the next calendar year. In order to rectify the accrual/cash timing difference is to record the tax as a deferred tax liability. 

例如，公司本年获得的净收益需要缴纳企业所得税。由于税费应在本年缴纳，必须同时反映同期的费用。但是，实际上，税费可以在下一个日历年缴纳。为了弥补应记/现金时间差异，将税费记为递延所得税负债。

Examples of Deferred Tax Liability Sources

递延所得税负债来源示例

A common source of deferred tax liability is the difference in depreciation expense treatment by tax laws and accounting rules. The depreciation expense for long-lived assets for financial statements purposes is typically calculated using a straight-line method, while tax regulations allow companies to use an accelerated depreciation method. Since the straight-line method produces lower depreciation when compared to that of the under accelerated method, a company's accounting income is temporarily higher than its taxable income.

递延所得税负债通常源于税法与会计准则对折旧费用的不同处理。在财务报表中，长期资产的折旧费用一般采用直线法计算，但税法允许公司采用快速折旧法。相较于快速折旧法，直线法减少了对折旧费用的计提，会计利润暂时高于应税所得。

The company recognizes the deferred tax liability on the differential between its accounting earnings before taxes and taxable income. As the company continues depreciating its assets, the difference between straight-line depreciation and accelerated depreciation narrows, and the amount of deferred tax liability is gradually removed through a series of offsetting accounting entries.

公司将税前会计利润与应税所得的差额确认为递延所得税负债。公司持续折旧资产，直线折旧与快速折旧之间的差异逐渐变小，通过一系列抵销会计分录逐渐消除递延所得税负债。

Another common source of deferred tax liability is an installment sale, which is the revenue recognized when a company sells its products on credit to be paid off in equal amounts in the future. Under accounting rules, the company is allowed to recognize full income from the installment sale of general merchandise, while tax laws require companies to recognize the income when installment payments are made. This creates a temporary positive difference between the company's accounting earnings and taxable income, as well as a deferred tax liability.

此外，递延所得税负债还源于分期付款销售，也就是公司销售产品时延期收款的收入，将在未来期间支付。根据会计准则，公司可以确认分期付款销售百货商品的全部收入；但税法规定公司需确认分期付款支付时的收入。这就造成公司的会计盈余与应纳税所得额之间出现暂时性的正差额，也就是递延所得税负债。