Definition of tax benefit (of depreciation)

tax benefit (of depreciation)

the amount of depreciation deductible for tax purposes multiplied by the tax rate;
the reduction in taxes caused by the deductibility of depreciation

Accelerated depreciation

Any depreciation method that produces larger deductions for depreciation in the
early years of a project's life. Accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS), which is a depreciation schedule
allowed for tax purposes, is one such example.

Accumulated Benefit Obligation (ABO)

An approximate measure of the liability of a plan in the event of a
termination at the date the calculation is performed. Related: projected benefit obligation.

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.

Before-tax profit margin

The ratio of net income before taxes to net sales.

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.

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.

Cost-benefit ratio

The net present value of an investment divided by the investment's initial cost. Also called
the profitability index.

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.

Defined benefit plan

A pension plan in which the sponsor agrees to make specified dollar payments to
qualifying employees. The pension obligations are effectively the debt obligation of the plan sponsor.
Related: defined contribution plan

Depreciation

A non-cash expense that provides a source of free cash flow. Amount allocated during the
period to amortize the cost of acquiring Long term assets over the useful life of the assets.

Depreciation tax shield

The value of the tax write-off on depreciation of plant and equipment.

Double-declining-balance depreciation

Method of accelerated depreciation.

Double-tax agreement

Agreement between two countries that taxes paid abroad can be offset against
domestic taxes levied on foreign dividends.

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.

Equivalent annual benefit

The equivalent annual annuity for the net present value of an investment project.

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.

Flat benefit formula

Method used to determine a participant's benefits in a defined benefit plan by
multiplying months of service by a flat monthly benefit.

Foreign tax credit

Home country credit against domestic income tax for foreign taxes paid on foreign
derived earnings.

Imputation tax system

Arrangement by which investors who receive a dividend also receive a tax credit for
corporate taxes that the firm has paid.

Incremental costs and benefits

Costs and benefits that would occur if a particular course of action were
taken compared to those that would occur if that course of action were not taken.

Interest equalization tax

tax on foreign investment by residents of the U.S. which was abolished in 1974.

Interest tax shield

The reduction in income taxes that results from the tax-deductibility of interest payments.

Investment tax credit

Proportion of new capital investment that can be used to reduce a company's tax bill
(abolished in 1986).

Limited-tax general obligation bond

A general obligation bond that is limited as to revenue sources.

Marginal tax rate

The tax rate that would have to be paid on any additional dollars of taxable income earned.

Net benefit to leverage factor

A linear approximation of a factor, T*, that enables one to operationalize the
total impact of leverage on firm value in the capital market imperfections view of capital structure.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

A federal agency that insures the vested benefits of
pension plan participants (established in 1974 by the ERISA legislation).

Personal tax view (of capital structure)

The argument that the difference in personal tax rates between
income from debt and income from equity eliminates the disadvantage from the double taxation (corporate
and personal) of income from equity.

Progressive tax system

A tax system wherein the average tax rate increases for some increases in income but
never decreases with an increase in income.

Short-term tax exempts

Short-term securities issued by states, municipalities, local housing agencies, and
urban renewal agencies.

Split-rate tax system

A tax system that taxes retained earnings at a higher rate than earnings that are
distributed as dividends.

Straight line depreciation

An equal dollar amount of depreciation in each accounting period.

Sum-of-the-years'-digits depreciation

Method of accelerated depreciation.

TANs (tax anticipation notes)

tax anticipation notes issued by states or municipalities to finance current
operations in anticipation of future tax receipts.

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 books

Set of books kept by a firm's management for the IRS that follows IRS rules. The stockholder's
books follow Financial Accounting Standards Board rules.

Tax clawback agreement

An agreement to contribute as equity to a project the value of all previously
realized project-related tax benefits not already clawed back to the extent required to cover any cash
deficiency of the project.

Tax differential view ( of dividend policy)

The view that shareholders prefer capital gains over dividends,
and hence low payout ratios, because capital gains are effectively taxed at lower rates than dividends.

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 free acquisition

A merger or consolidation in which 1) the acquirer's tax basis in each asset whose
ownership is transferred in the transaction is generally the same as the acquiree's, and 2) each seller who
receives only stock does not have to pay any tax on the gain he realizes until the shares are sold.

Tax haven

A nation with a moderate level of taxation and/or liberal tax incentives for undertaking specific
activities such as exporting or investing.

Tax Reform Act of 1986

A 1986 law involving a major overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

Tax shield

The reduction in income taxes that results from taking an allowable deduction from taxable income.

Tax swap

Swapping two similar bonds to receive a tax benefit.

Tax deferral option

The feature of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that the capital gains tax on an asset is
payable only when the gain is realized by selling the asset.

Tax-deferred retirement plans

Employer-sponsored and other plans that allow contributions and earnings to
be made and accumulate tax-free until they are paid out as benefits.

Tax-timing option

The option to sell an asset and claim a loss for tax purposes or not to sell the asset and
defer the capital gains tax.

Taxable acquisition

A merger or consolidation that is not a tax-fee acquisition. The selling shareholders are
treated as having sold their shares.

Taxable income

Gross income less a set of deductions.

Taxable transaction

Any transaction that is not tax-free to the parties involved, such as a taxable acquisition.

Two-tier tax system

A method of taxation in which the income going to shareholders is taxed twice.

Unit benefit formula

Method used to determine a participant's benefits in a defined benefit plan by
multiplying years of service by the percentage of salary.

Value-added tax

Method of indirect taxation whereby a tax is levied at each stage of production on the value
added at that specific stage.

Withholding tax

A tax levied by a country of source on income paid, usually on dividends remitted to the
home country of the firm operating in a foreign country. tax levied on dividends paid abroad.

Depreciation

A technique by which a company recovers the high cost of its plant-and-equipment assets gradually during the number of years they’ll be used in the business. depreciation can be physical, technological, or both.

INCOME TAX

What the business paid to the IRS.

STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION

A depreciation method that depreciates an asset the same amount for each year of its estimated
life.

Depreciation

An expense that spreads the cost of an asset over its useful life.

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.

Profit before interest and taxes (PBIT)

See EBIT.

Accumulated depreciation

A contra-fixed asset account representing the portion of the cost of a fixed asset that has been previously charged to expense. Each fixed asset account will have its own associated accumulated depreciation account.

Depreciation expense

An expense account that represents the portion of the cost of an asset that is being charged to expense during the current period.

Payroll tax expense

The amount of tax associated with salaries that an employer pays to governments (federal, state, and local).

Payroll taxes payable

The amount of payroll taxes owed to the various governments at the end of a period.

accelerated depreciation

(1) The estimated useful life of the fixed asset being depreciated is
shorter than a realistic forecast of its probable actual service life;
(2) more of the total cost of the fixed asset is allocated to the first
half of its useful life than to the second half (i.e., there is a
front-end loading of depreciation expense).

accumulated depreciation

A contra, or offset, account that is coupled
with the property, plant, and equipment asset account in which the original
costs of the long-term operating assets of a business are recorded.
The accumulated depreciation contra account accumulates the amount of
depreciation expense that is recorded period by period. So the balance in
this account is the cumulative amount of depreciation that has been
recorded since the assets were acquired. The balance in the accumulated
depreciation account is deducted from the original cost of the assets
recorded in the property, plant, and equipment asset account. The
remainder, called the book value of the assets, is the amount included on
the asset side of a business.

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.

earnings before interest and income tax (EBIT)

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.

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).

benefits-provided ranking

a listing of service departments in an order that begins with the one providing the most service
to all other corporate areas; the ranking ends with the
service department providing service primarily to revenueproducing
areas

cafeteria plan a “menu” of fringe benefit options that include

cash or nontaxable benefits

cost-benefit analysis the analytical process of comparing the

relative costs and benefits that result from a specific course
of action (such as providing information or investing in a
project)

tax deferral

postponing taxation of an amount until a future date

tax exemption

a tax treatment where income is never subject to income taxation

tax-deferred income

current compensation that is taxed at a future date

tax-exempt income

current compensation that is never taxed

tax shield (of depreciation)

the amount of depreciation deductible
for tax purposes; the amount of revenue shielded
from taxes because of the depreciation deduction

Depreciation

Reduction in value of fixed or tangible assets over some period
for accounting purposes. See Amortization.

Accelerated depreciation

Any of several methods that recognize an increased amount
of depreciation in the earliest years of asset usage. This results in increased tax benefits
in the first few years of asset usage.

Accumulated depreciation

The sum total of all deprecation expense recognized to date
on a depreciable fixed asset.

Depreciation

Both the decline in value of an asset over time, as well as the gradual
expensing of an asset over time, roughly in accordance with its level of usage or
decline in value through that period.

Income tax

A government tax on the income earned by an individual or corporation.

average tax rate

Total taxes owed divided by total income.

depreciation tax shield

Reduction in taxes attributable to the depreciation allowance.

interest tax shield

tax savings resulting from deductibility of interest payments.

marginal tax rate

Additional taxes owed per dollar of additional income.

straight-line depreciation

Constant depreciation for each year of the asset’s accounting life.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

The calculation and comparison of the costs and benefits of a policy or project.

Depreciation

a) Of capital stock: decline in the value of capital due to its wearing out or becoming obsolete.
b) Of currency: decline in the exchange rate.

Depreciation Allowances

tax deductions that businesses can claim when they spend money on investment goods.

Indirect Taxes

taxes paid by consumers when they buy goods and services. A sales tax is an example.

Inflation Tax

The loss in purchasing power due to inflation eroding the real value of financial assets such as cash.

Investment Tax Credit

A reduction in taxes offered to firms to induce them to increase investment spending.

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