What deferred tax actually is
Two sets of books, one business. Your accounts follow the Companies Act and the accounting standards; your tax computation follows the Income-tax Act. They usually agree on how much income and expense there is over the life of the business, but disagree about which year it falls in. Deferred tax is the accounting entry that records that disagreement so this year's profit after tax is not misleading.
The classic case: the Income-tax Act allows depreciation at 15% written down value on plant and machinery while your accounts charge it over ten years on a straight line. In the early years you claim more depreciation for tax than you charge in the books, so you pay less tax now. That relief is not a gift. It reverses in later years when the tax depreciation runs out and the book charge continues. A deferred tax liability records the tax you will pay then.
Deferred tax liability
Arises when you have already had the tax relief and will pay it back later. The usual cause is tax depreciation running ahead of book depreciation, which is why most profitable Indian companies with plant on the books carry a DTL.
Deferred tax asset
Arises when you have taken the charge in your books but the tax deduction is still to come — provisions for gratuity, leave encashment, doubtful debts, and unpaid statutory dues. A future saving, so an asset.
Only timing differences
Differences that never reverse are outside deferred tax altogether. A penalty disallowed forever, or exempt income never taxed, is a permanent difference — no entry arises.
How deferred tax is calculated, step by step
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Find the timing differences
For every item, compare the amount in your books against the amount the Income-tax Act recognises. Fixed assets are compared on written down value; provisions are compared as the balance charged but not yet allowed.
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Decide which way each one points
If the Act has allowed more than the books, the difference is taxable and creates a liability. If the books have charged more than the Act allows, the difference is deductible and creates an asset.
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Apply the tax rate you expect on reversal
Use rates enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date, including surcharge and cess. A 25% company with no surcharge measures at 26%, not 25%.
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Test the assets before recognising them
Ordinary deferred tax assets need reasonable certainty of future taxable income. Assets arising from carried forward losses or unabsorbed depreciation need virtual certainty backed by convincing evidence — a far stricter test.
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Compare with last year and post the difference
The balance sheet carries the closing figure; the profit and loss account carries only the movement. Closing less opening is your charge or credit for the year.
A worked example
A private limited company with turnover under ₹400 crore, so taxed at 25% plus 4% cess — an effective 26%. At 31 March 2026:
| Item | Books | Income-tax Act | Difference | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written down value of fixed assets | ₹50,00,000 | ₹35,00,000 | +₹15,00,000 | Taxable — liability |
| Provision for gratuity, unpaid | ₹5,00,000 | Nil | −₹5,00,000 | Deductible — asset |
| Provision for doubtful debts | ₹2,00,000 | Nil | −₹2,00,000 | Deductible — asset |
| Net timing difference | +₹8,00,000 | Net liability | ||
| Deferred tax at 26% | ₹2,08,000 | DTL | ||
If last year's balance sheet showed a deferred tax liability of ₹1,60,000, the movement is ₹48,000 and the entry is:
| Deferred tax expense (Profit and loss account) | Dr ₹48,000 | |
| To Deferred tax liability | ₹48,000 |
Note what does not happen: the whole ₹2,08,000 does not go through the profit and loss account. Only the movement does. Putting the closing balance through the P&L is the single most common deferred tax error in small company accounts.
Effective rates for measurement
Deferred tax is measured at the rate including surcharge and cess, because that is the rate at which the difference will actually reverse.
| Status | Base | Nil surcharge | Middle band | Top band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic company, turnover within ₹400 crore | 25% | 26.00% | 27.82% | 29.12% |
| Domestic company, other | 30% | 31.20% | 33.384% | 34.944% |
| Domestic company, concessional | 22% | 25.168% at every level — surcharge is a flat 10% | ||
| New manufacturing company | 15% | 17.16% at every level | ||
| Foreign company | 35% | 36.40% | 37.128% | 38.22% |
| Partnership firm or LLP | 30% | 31.20% | 34.944% above ₹1 crore | |
If you are paying MAT, do not use the MAT rate
A company paying minimum alternate tax still measures deferred tax at its regular rate. MAT is treated as a temporary state of affairs, not the rate at which timing differences will eventually reverse. Measuring deferred tax at 15% because MAT was paid this year is wrong, and it is a common error.
MAT credit is a separate matter. It is recognised as an asset in its own right, not as a deferred tax asset, and only where there is convincing evidence it will be used within the carry forward period.
This changed for FY 2026-27. The Finance Act, 2026 made MAT a final tax for a company staying on the old rates — no fresh credit arises at all. Any MAT credit entitlement already sitting in your balance sheet needs reviewing for whether it is still recoverable, because a domestic company can now only use accumulated credit after moving to the concessional regime. Our MAT and AMT calculator works out the position.
AS 22 or Ind AS 12 — which applies to you
Most owner-managed companies in India follow AS 22, which works from the profit and loss account: it looks at the difference between accounting income and taxable income for the period. Companies applying Indian Accounting Standards follow Ind AS 12, which works from the balance sheet: it compares the carrying amount of each asset and liability with its tax base.
For a straightforward business the two usually reach the same number, and this calculator will serve either. They diverge on revaluations, business combinations, undistributed profits of subsidiaries, and items taken directly to other comprehensive income — where Ind AS 12 recognises deferred tax that AS 22 does not. If your company is on Ind AS, treat the figure here as a starting point rather than the answer.
One difference worth knowing under either standard: deferred tax is not discounted to present value, however far away the reversal is.
Where it goes in the balance sheet
Under Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013, a deferred tax liability sits under non-current liabilities and a deferred tax asset under non-current assets. Neither is ever shown as current.
Assets and liabilities are offset and a single net figure presented only where the entity has a legally enforceable right to set off and the balances relate to taxes levied by the same governing authority. For a single Indian company that condition is normally met, which is why you see one net line rather than two — and it is why this calculator nets your differences before applying the rate.
Questions we get asked
What is the difference between a deferred tax asset and a deferred tax liability?
A deferred tax liability means you have already had tax relief that you will repay in later years — most often because the Income-tax Act allowed more depreciation than your books charged. A deferred tax asset means the opposite: you have taken the charge in your accounts but the tax deduction is still to come, as with a gratuity provision that is only deductible when paid.
How is deferred tax on depreciation calculated?
Compare the closing written down value of your fixed assets as per the books with the closing WDV as per the Income-tax Act. The difference is a timing difference. Multiply it by your effective tax rate. Where the book WDV is higher, the result is a deferred tax liability; where it is lower, a deferred tax asset. Exclude land, which is not depreciated, and ignore any revaluation.
What rate should I use — 25%, 26% or 30%?
Use the effective rate including surcharge and cess at which the difference will reverse. A domestic company at the 25% base rate with no surcharge measures at 26%. One in the 22% concessional regime measures at 25.168%, because that regime carries a flat 10% surcharge at every income level. The calculator works this out once you pick your status.
Does the whole deferred tax balance go through the profit and loss account?
No, and this is the most common mistake. The balance sheet carries the closing balance; the profit and loss account carries only the movement from opening to closing. If your closing DTL is ₹2,08,000 and the opening was ₹1,60,000, the charge for the year is ₹48,000.
Can I recognise a deferred tax asset on my carried forward losses?
Only where there is virtual certainty, supported by convincing evidence, that future taxable income will be available to absorb them. This is a stricter test than the reasonable certainty that applies to every other deferred tax asset, and it is deliberately hard to meet — binding contracts and a demonstrable order book, not projections. Where the test is not met, disclose the unrecognised amount rather than recognising it.
Do LLPs and partnership firms have to compute deferred tax?
AS 22 applies to enterprises preparing financial statements that are intended to give a true and fair view, so an LLP or firm preparing accounts on that basis computes deferred tax the same way, at its own rate of 30% plus surcharge and cess. Small entities preparing accounts purely for tax purposes often do not, but the position depends on the basis on which the accounts are drawn.
What happens when the tax rate changes?
The opening balance is remeasured at the new rate and the effect goes through this year's profit and loss account. This matters whenever a company moves into the 22% concessional regime, since the rate drops from around 31.2% to 25.168% and every existing timing difference is revalued in one go. Enter last year's rate in the calculator and the effect is isolated for you.
Is deferred tax discounted to present value?
No. Neither AS 22 nor Ind AS 12 permits discounting, however distant the reversal. The amount is the timing difference multiplied by the rate, and nothing more.
Are permanent differences included?
No. Deferred tax arises only on differences that reverse. A penalty that is disallowed forever, or income exempt for all time, never reverses and so produces no deferred tax at all — however large the difference between book profit and taxable income it creates.