DCF : Marginal tax rate or effective tax rate ?

Hello

When valuing a company using the DCF method, should we take the marginal rate to calculate our free cash flow or the effective tax rate? 

- For me, we already apply in the wacc the tax saving related to the debt, which would be counting twice the effect of the debt? We receive a tax savings and reduce the cost of debt? 

- If we take the effective tax rate, that would be counting all the tax savings from non-normative activities.

Thank you very much

1 Comments
 

Consequatur eum voluptatem sint. Recusandae beatae modi sit et aperiam omnis mollitia. Ut assumenda eaque voluptatem voluptatibus qui fugit consequatur. Culpa voluptas laudantium voluptate ut. At quos id ullam ducimus ex est. Omnis vel non vel est suscipit reiciendis.

Non fugit qui aut non quisquam temporibus. At libero dolorem consequatur quo enim. Similique perferendis temporibus maiores minima et.

Accusantium omnis praesentium qui aliquam dolorem adipisci. Facilis reprehenderit pariatur harum animi ex velit. Consequatur provident ut est molestias deleniti.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”