Definition of Income tax
Income tax
A government tax on the income earned by an individual or corporation.
INCOME TAX
What the business paid to the IRS.
Related Terms:
That portion of the total income tax provision that is based on
taxable income.
That portion of the total income tax provision that is the result
of current-period originations and reversals of temporary differences.
A measure of profit that
equals sales revenue for the period minus cost-of-goods-sold expense
and all operating expenses—but before deducting interest and income
tax expenses. It is a measure of the operating profit of a business before
considering the cost of its debt capital and income tax.
See income tax provision.
The expense deduction from pretax book income reported on the
income statement. It consists of both current income tax expense and deferred income tax
expense. The terms income tax expense and income tax provision are used interchangeably.
current compensation that is taxed at a future date
current compensation that is never taxed
tax incentives for labor and business to induce them to conform to wage/price guidelines.
Gross income less a set of deductions.
income subject to income tax as reported on the tax return.
Well, frankly, accrual is not a good descriptive
term. Perhaps the best way to begin is to mention that accrual-basis
accounting is much more than cash-basis accounting. Recording only the
cash receipts and cash disbursement of a business would be grossly
inadequate. A business has many assets other than cash, as well as
many liabilities, that must be recorded. Measuring profit for a period as
the difference between cash inflows from sales and cash outflows for
expenses would be wrong, and in fact is not allowed for most businesses
by the income tax law. For management, income tax, and financial
reporting purposes, a business needs a comprehensive record-keeping
system—one that recognizes, records, and reports all the assets and liabilities
of a business. This all-inclusive scope of financial record keeping
is referred to as accrual-basis accounting. Accrual-basis accounting
records sales revenue when sales are made (though cash is received
before or after the sales) and records expenses when costs are incurred
(though cash is paid before or after expenses are recorded). Established
financial reporting standards require that profit for a period
must be recorded using accrual-basis accounting methods. Also, these
authoritative standards require that in reporting its financial condition a
business must use accrual-basis accounting.
Cash flow provided by operating
activities adjusted to provide a more recurring, sustainable measure. Adjustments to reported cash
provided by operating activities are made to remove such nonrecurring cash items as: the operating
component of discontinued operations, income taxes on items classified as investing or financing activities, income tax benefits from nonqualified employee stock options, the cash effects of purchases and sales of trading securities for nonfinancial firms, capitalized expenditures, and other nonrecurring cash inflows and outflows.
The fund return, for any 12-month period, including changes in unit value and the reinvestment of distributions, but not taking into account sales, redemption, distribution or other optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would reduce returns.
This is the person who benefits from the terms of a trust, a will, an RRSP, a RRIF, a LIF, an annuity or a life insurance policy. In relation to RRSP's, RRIF's, LIF's, Annuities and of course life insurance, if the beneficiary is a spouse, parent, offspring or grand-child, they are considered to be a preferred beneficiary. If the insured has named a preferred beneficiary, the death benefit is invariably protected from creditors. There have been some court challenges of this right of protection but so far they have been unsuccessful. See "Creditor Protection" below. A beneficiary under the age of 18 must be represented by an individual guardian over the age of 18 or a public official who represents minors generally. A policy owner may, in the designation of a beneficiary, appoint someone to act as trustee for a minor. Death benefits are not subject to income taxes. If you make your beneficiary your estate, the death benefit will be included in your assets for probate. Probate filing fees are currently $14 per thousand of estate value in British Columbia and $15 per thousand of estate value in Ontario.
Another way to avoid probate fees or creditor claims against life insurance proceeds is for the insured person to designate and register with his/her insurance company's head office an irrevocable beneficiary. By making such a designation, the insured gives up the right to make any changes to his/her policy without the consent of the irrevocable beneficiary. Because of the seriousness of the implications, an irrevocable designation should only be made for good reason and where the insured fully understands the consequences.
NoteA successful challenge of the rules relating to beneficiaries was concluded in an Ontario court in 1996. The Insurance Act says its provisions relating to beneficiaries are made "notwithstanding the Succession Law Reform Act." There are two relevent provisions of the Succession Law Reform Act. One section of the act gives a judge the power to make any order concerning an estate if the deceased person has failed to provide for a dependant. Another section says money from a life insurance policy can be considered part of the estate if an order is made to support a dependant. In the case in question, the deceased had attempted to deceive his lawful dependents by making his common-law-spouse the beneficiary of an insurance policy which by court order was supposed to name his ex-spouse and children as beneficiaries.
The annual depreciation expense allowed by the Canadian income tax Act.
contribution margin
An intermediate measure of profit equal to sales revenue
minus cost-of-goods-sold expense and minus variable operating
expenses—but before fixed operating expenses are deducted. Profit at
this point contributes toward covering fixed operating expenses and
toward interest and income tax expenses. The breakeven point is the
sales volume at which contribution margin just equals total fixed
expenses.
current liabilities
Current means that these liabilities require payment in
the near term. Generally, these include accounts payable, accrued
expenses payable, income tax payable, short-term notes payable, and
the portion of long-term debt that will come due during the coming year.
Keep in mind that a business may roll over its debt; the old, maturing
debt may be replaced in part or in whole by new borrowing.
Current Tax Payment Act of 1943
A federal Act requiring employers to withhold income taxes from employee pay.
Debt-service coverage ratio
Earnings before interest and income taxes plus one-third rental charges, divided
by interest expense plus one-third rental charges plus the quantity of principal repayments divided by one
minus the tax rate.
depreciation
Refers to the generally accepted accounting principle of allocating
the cost of a long-term operating asset over the estimated useful
life of the asset. Each year of use is allocated a part of the original cost of
the asset. Generally speaking, either the accelerated method or the
straight-line method of depreciation is used. (There are other methods,
but they are relatively rare.) Useful life estimates are heavily influenced
by the schedules allowed in the federal income tax law. Depreciation is
not a cash outlay in the period in which the expense is recorded—just
the opposite. The cash inflow from sales revenue during the period
includes an amount to reimburse the business for the use of its fixed
assets. In this respect, depreciation is a source of cash. So depreciation is
added back to net income in the statement of cash flows to arrive at cash
flow from operating activities.
Disposable Income
income less income tax.
Dividend
A payment a company makes to stockholders. Earnings before income tax. The profit a company made
before income taxes.
Earnings
In general, refers to a company's total sales less cost of sales and operating expenses, including interest and income tax.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
A financial measure defined as revenues less cost of goods sold
and selling, general, and administrative expenses. In other words, operating and non-operating profit before
the deduction of interest and income taxes.
Endowment
Life insurance payable to the policyholder, if living on the maturity date stated in the policy, or to a beneficiary if the insured dies before that date. For example, some Term to age 100 policies offer the option of taking the face amount of the policy as a cash payout at age 100 if the policyholder is still alive and paying all required income taxes on the amount received or leaving the policy to pay out upon death whereupon the payout is tax free.
extraordinary gains and losses
No pun intended, but these types of gains
and losses are extraordinarily important to understand. These are nonrecurring,
onetime, unusual, nonoperating gains or losses that are
recorded by a business during the period. The amount of each of these
gains or losses, net of the income tax effect, is reported separately in the
income statement. Net income is reported before and after these gains
and losses. These gains and losses should not be recorded very often, but
in fact many businesses record them every other year or so, causing
much consternation to investors. In addition to evaluating the regular
stream of sales and expenses that produce operating profit, investors
also have to factor into their profit performance analysis the perturbations
of these irregular gains and losses reported by a business.
financial leverage
The equity (ownership) capital of a business can serve
as the basis for securing debt capital (borrowing money). In this way, a
business increases the total capital available to invest in its assets and
can make more sales and more profit. The strategy is to earn operating
profit, or earnings before interest and income tax (EBIT), on the capital
supplied from debt that is more than the interest paid on the debt capital.
A financial leverage gain equals the EBIT earned on debt capital
minus the interest on the debt. A financial leverage gain augments earnings
on equity capital. A business must earn a rate of return on its assets
(ROA) that is greater than the interest rate on its debt to make a financial
leverage gain. If the spread between its ROA and interest rate is unfavorable,
a business suffers a financial leverage loss.
Flow-through method
The practice of reporting to shareholders using straight-line depreciation and
accelerated depreciation for tax purposes and "flowing through" the lower income taxes actually paid to the
financial statement prepared for shareholders.
Foreign tax credit
Home country credit against domestic income tax for foreign taxes paid on foreign
derived earnings.
gross margin, or gross profit
This first-line measure of profit
equals sales revenue less cost of goods sold. This is profit before operating
expenses and interest and income tax expenses are deducted. Financial
reporting standards require that gross margin be reported in
external income statements. Gross margin is a key variable in management
profit reports for decision making and control. Gross margin
doesn’t apply to service businesses that don’t sell products.
INCOME STATEMENT
An accounting statement that summarizes information about a company in the following format:
Net Sales
– Cost of goods sold
--------------------
Gross profit
– Operating expenses
--------------------
Earnings before income tax
– income tax
--------------------
= Net income or (Net loss)
Formally called a “consolidated earnings statement,” it covers a period of time such as a quarter or a year.
Interest tax shield
The reduction in income taxes that results from the tax-deductibility of interest payments.
Municipal bond
State or local governments offer muni bonds or municipals, as they are called, to pay for
special projects such as highways or sewers. The interest that investors receive is exempt from some income taxes.
Net income
The excess of revenues over expenses, including the impact of income taxes.
Normalizing method
The practice of making a charge in the income account equivalent to the tax savings
realized through the use of different depreciation methods for shareholder and income tax purposes, thus
washing out the benefits of the tax savings reported as final net income to shareholders.
operating leverage
A relatively small percent increase or decrease in
sales volume that causes a much larger percent increase or decrease in
profit because fixed expenses do not change with small changes in sales
volume. Sales volume changes have a lever effect on profit. This effect
should be called sales volume leverage, but in practice it is called operating
leverage.
operating liabilities
The short-term liabilities generated by the operating
(profit-making) activities of a business. Most businesses have three types
of operating liabilities: accounts payable from inventory purchases and
from incurring expenses, accrued expenses payable for unpaid expenses,
and income tax payable. These short-term liabilities of a business are
non-interest-bearing, although if not paid on time a business may be
assessed a late-payment penalty that is in the nature of an interest
charge.
operating profit
See earnings before interest and income tax (EBIT).
profit
The general term profit is not precisely defined; it may refer to net
gains over a period of time, or cash inflows less cash outflows for an
investment, or earnings before or after certain costs and expenses are
deducted from income or revenue. In the world of business, profit is
measured by the application of generally accepted accounting principles
(GAAP). In the income statement, the final, bottom-line profit is generally
labeled net income and equals revenue (plus any extraordinary gains)
less all expenses (and less any extraordinary losses) for the period. Inter-
nal management profit reports include several profit lines: gross margin,
contribution margin, operating profit (earnings before interest and
income tax), and earnings before income tax. External income statements
report gross margin (also called gross profit) and often report one
or more other profit lines, although practice varies from business to
business in this regard.
profit module
This concept refers to a separate source of revenue and
profit within a business organization, which should be identified for
management analysis and control. A profit module may focus on one
product or a cluster of products. Profit in this context is not the final, bottom-
line net income of the business as a whole. Rather, other measures
of profit are used for management analysis and decision-making purposes—
such as gross margin, contribution margin, or operating profit
(earnings before interest and income tax).
Registered Pension Plan
Commonly referred to as an RPP this is a tax sheltered employee group plan approved by Federal and Provincial governments allowing employees to have deductions made directly from their wages by their employer with a resulting reduction of income taxes at source. These plans are easy to implement but difficult to dissolve should the group have a change of heart. Employer contributions are usually a percentage of the employee's salary, typically from 3% to 5%, with a maximum of the lessor of 20% or $3,500 per annum. The employee has the same right of contribution. Vesting is generally set at 2 years, which means that the employee has right of ownership of both his/her and his/her employers contributions to the plan after 2 years. It also means that all contributions are locked in after 2 years and cannot be cashed in for use by the employee in a low income year. Should the employee change jobs, these funds can only be transferred to the RPP of a new employer or the funds can be transferred to an individual RRSP (or any number of RRSPs) but in either scenario, the funds are locked in and cannot be accessed until at least age 60. The only choices available to access locked in RPP funds after age 60 are the conversion to a Life income Fund or a Unisex Annuity.
To further define an RPP, Registered Pension Plans take two forms; Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution (also known as money purchase plans). The Defined Benefit plan establishes the amount of money in advance that is to be paid out at retirement based usually on number of years of employee service and various formulae involving percentages of average employee earnings. The Defined Benefit plan is subject to constant government scrutiny to make certain that sufficient contributions are being made to provide for the predetermined pension payout. On the other hand, the Defined Contribution plan is considerably easier to manage. The employer simply determines the percentage to be contributed within the prescribed limits. Whatever amount has grown in the employee's reserve by retirement determines how much the pension payout will be by virtue of the amount of LIF or Annuity payout it will purchase.
The most simple group RRSP plan is a group billed RRSP. This means that each employee has his own RRSP plan and the employer deducts the contributions directly from the employee's wages and sends them directly to the RRSP plan administrator. Regular RRSP rules apply in that maximum contribution in the current year is the lessor of 18% or $13,500. Generally, to encourage this kind of plan, the employer also agrees to make a regular contribution to the employee's plans, knowing full well that any contributions made immediately belong to the employee. Should the employee change jobs, he/she can take their plan with them and continue making contributions or cash it in and pay tax in the year in which the money is taken into income.
return on assets (ROA)
Although there is no single uniform practice for
calculating this ratio, generally it equals operating profit (before interest
and income tax) for a year divided by the total assets that are used to
generate the profit. ROA is the key ratio to test whether a business is
earning enough on its assets to cover its cost of capital. ROA is used for
determining financial leverage gain (or loss).
Section 83(b) Election
The decision by an employee to recognize taxable income
on the purchase price of an incentive stock option within 30 days following
the date when an option is exercised and withhold taxes at the ordinary
income tax rate at that time.
Sole proprietorship
A business owned by a single individual. The sole proprietorship pays no corporate
income tax but has unlimited liability for business debts and obligations.
Statutory Tax Rate
The income tax rate that is stated in income tax law. It is applied to taxable
income reported in income tax returns. The U.S. Federal statutory corporate income tax rate
starts out at 15% for taxable income up to $50,000 and rises quickly to 35%.
straight-line depreciation
This depreciation method allocates a uniform
amount of the cost of long-lived operating assets (fixed assets) to each
year of use. It is the basic alternative to the accelerated depreciation
method. When using the straight-line method, a business may estimate a
longer life for a fixed asset than when using the accelerated method
(though not necessarily in every case). Both methods are allowed for
income tax and under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
sunk cost
A cost that has been paid and cannot be undone or reversed.
Once the cost has been paid, it is irretrievable, like water over the dam
or spilled milk. Usually, the term refers to the recorded value of an asset
that has lost its value in the operating activities of a business. Examples
are the costs of products in inventory that cannot be sold and fixed
assets that are no longer usable. The book value of these assets should
be written off to expense. These costs should be disregarded in making
decisions about what to do with the assets (except that the income tax
effects of disposing of the assets should be taken into account).
Tax anticipation bills (TABs)
Special bills that the Treasury occasionally issues that mature on corporate
quarterly income tax dates and can be used at face value by corporations to pay their tax liabilities.
Tax-exempt sector
The municipal bond market where state and local governments raise funds. Bonds issued
in this sector are exempt from federal income taxes.
tax exemption
a tax treatment where income is never subject to income taxation
Tax shield
The reduction in income taxes that results from taking an allowable deduction from taxable income.
times interest earned
A ratio that tests the ability of a business to make
interest payments on its debt, which is calculated by dividing annual
earnings before interest and income tax by the interest expense for the
year. There is no particular rule for this ratio, such as 3 or 4 times, but
obviously the ratio should be higher than 1.
unit margin
The profit per unit sold of a product after deducting product
cost and variable expenses of selling the product from the sales price of
the product. Unit margin equals profit before fixed operating expenses
are considered and before interest and income tax are deducted. Unit
margin is one of the key variables in a profit model for decision-making
analysis.
Accrued Income
income that has been earned but not yet received. For instance, if you have a non-registered Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC), Mutual Fund or Segregated Equity Fund, growth accrues annually or semi-annually and is taxable annually even though the gain is only paid at maturity of your investment.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Cumulative gains or losses reported in shareholders'
equity that arise from changes in the fair value of available-for-sale securities, from the
effects of changes in foreign-currency exchange rates on consolidated foreign-currency financial
statements, certain gains and losses on financial derivatives, and from adjustments for underfunded
pension plans.
Adjusted Income from Continuing
Operations Reported income from continuing operations
adjusted to remove nonrecurring items.
After-tax profit margin
The ratio of net income to net sales.
After-tax real rate of return
Money after-tax rate of return minus the inflation rate.
Asymmetric taxes
A situation wherein participants in a transaction have different net tax rates.
Average tax rate
taxes as a fraction of income; total taxes divided by total taxable income.
average tax rate
Total taxes owed divided by total income.
Before-tax profit margin
The ratio of net income before taxes to net sales.
Book Income
Pretax income reported on the income statement.
Break-even tax rate
The tax rate at which a party to a prospective transaction is indifferent between entering
into and not entering into the transaction.
Cash flow after interest and taxes
Net income plus depreciation.
Cash Flow–to–Income Ratio (CFI)
Adjusted cash flow provided by continuing operations
divided by adjusted income from continuing operations.
common-size income statement
income statement that presents items as a percentage of revenues.
Corporate tax view
The argument that double (corporate and individual) taxation of equity returns makes
debt a cheaper financing method.
Corporate taxable equivalent
Rate of return required on a par bond to produce the same after-tax yield to
maturity that the premium or discount bond quoted would.
Deferred Tax Asset
Future tax benefit that results from (1) the origination of a temporary difference
that causes pretax book income to be less than taxable income or (2) a loss, credit, or other
carryforward. Future tax benefits are realized on the reversal of deductible temporary differences
or the offsetting of a loss carryforward against taxable income or a tax-credit carryforward against
the current tax provision.
Deferred Tax Liability
Future tax obligation that results from the origination of a temporary
difference that causes pretax book income to exceed taxable income.
Deferred taxes
A non-cash expense that provides a source of free cash flow. Amount allocated during the
period to cover tax liabilities that have not yet been paid.
Depreciation tax shield
The value of the tax write-off on depreciation of plant and equipment.
depreciation tax shield
Reduction in taxes attributable to the depreciation allowance.
Dividend income
income that a company receives in the form of dividends on stock in other companies that it holds.
Double-tax agreement
Agreement between two countries that taxes paid abroad can be offset against
domestic taxes levied on foreign dividends.
earned income
Earned income is generally an individual's salary or wages from employment. It also includes some taxable benefits. Earned income also includes business income if the individual is self-employed. Earned income is used as the basis for calculating RRSP maximum contribution limits.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
The operating profit before deducting interest and tax.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
The operating profit before deducting interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA)
An earningsbased measure that, for many, serves as a surrogate for cash flow. Actually consists of working
capital provided by operations before interest and taxes.
EBDDT - Earnings before depreciation and deferred taxes
This measure is used principally by
firms in the real estate industry, with the exception of real estate investment trusts, which typically
do not pay taxes.
Economic income
Cash flow plus change in present value.
Effective Tax Rate
The total tax provision divided by pretax book income from continuing
operations.
Electronic Federal Tax Payment Systems (EFTPS)
An electronic funds transfer system used by businesses to remit taxes to the government.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
A federal Act that sets minimum operational and funding standards for employee benefit
plans.
Equivalent taxable yield
The yield that must be offered on a taxable bond issue to give the same after-tax
yield as a tax-exempt issue.
Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)
A federal Act requiring employers to pay a tax on the wages paid to their employees, which is then used to create a
pool of funds to be used for unemployment benefits.
Fixed-income equivalent
Also called a busted convertible, a convertible security that is trading like a straight
security because the optioned common stock is trading low.
Fixed-income instruments
Assets that pay a fixed-dollar amount, such as bonds and preferred stock.
Fixed-income market
The market for trading bonds and preferred stock.
Fixed-income security
A security that pays a specified cash flow over a
specific period. Bonds are typical fixed-income securities.
Imputation tax system
Arrangement by which investors who receive a dividend also receive a tax credit for
corporate taxes that the firm has paid.
Income
Net earnings after all expenses for an accounting period are subtracted from all
revenues recognized during that period.
Income beneficiary
One who receives income from a trust.
Income bond
A bond on which the payment of interest is contingent on sufficient earnings. These bonds are
commonly used during the reorganization of a failed or failing business.
Income from Continuing Operations
After-tax net income before discontinued operations,
extraordinary items, and the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principle.
Income fund
A mutual fund providing for liberal current income from investments.
income funds
Mutual funds that seek regular income. This type of fund invests primarily in government, corporate and other types of bonds, debt securities, and other income producing securities and in certain circumstances can also hold common and preferred shares.
Income Smoothing
A form of earnings management designed to remove peaks and valleys
from a normal earnings series. The practice includes taking steps to reduce and “store” profits
during good years for use during slower years.
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