Although it is true that the Red Monkey will be renovating the décor frequently, it will not be investing in décor as rapidly as it depreciates it for tax purposes. In years four and five, the Red Monkey will have no depreciation for tax purposes but will still be depreciating the renovations on its books, and in those years its deferred tax liabilities will become due. Deferred tax liabilities are generally deferred indefinitely only if a company invests consistently. Patel’s statement is incorrect.
In order to calculate the total deferred tax liability for year three, we can calculate the deferred tax charge in years one, two, and three and then add them.
Pre-tax income for the Red Monkey for reporting purposes every year equals ($14,384,000 revenue ? $5,070,400 straight-line depreciation) = $9,313,600.
For tax purposes, pre-tax income in years one and two equals $14,384,000 revenue – ($25,352,000 × 0.35) = $8,873,200 depreciation, or $5,510,800 in net income per year. Thus the deferred tax charge in years one and two equals the difference in income of ($9,313,600 reported income ? $5,510,800 taxable income) = $3,802,800 at a 41% tax rate, or ($3,802,800 × 0.41) = $1,559,148.
For tax purposes, pre-tax income in year three equals $14,384,000 revenue – ($25,352,000 × 0.30) = $7,605,600 depreciation, or $6,778,400 in net income. Thus the deferred tax charge for year three equals the difference in income of ($9,314,000 reported income ? $6,778,400 taxable income) = $2,535,600 at a 41% tax rate, or ($2,535,600 × 0.41) = $1,039,596.
Thus the total deferred tax liability at the end of year 3 equals ($1.559 million + $1.559 million + $1.040 million) = $4.158 million. Shah’s statement is correct.
Alternately, we could do this more quickly by recognizing that, in year three, the renovations will be completely depreciated for tax purposes, so that taxable depreciation will have reached their full cost, $25,352,000. We also can calculate that, because the renovations are being depreciated on a straight-line basis over five years, by year three Red Monkey will have depreciated (3 years charged / 5-year asset life) = 60% of their total cost on its books. Thus, the deferred tax liability in year three will be based on the [($25,352,000)× (1 – 0.60)] = $10.141 million in cost not yet depreciated. At a 41% tax rate, the deferred taxes on the cost not yet depreciated will equal ($10.141 million × 0.41) = $4.158 million.
Note that calculating a deferred tax liability directly is often much faster than doing it year by year.