DTL arising from goodwill in acquisitions

I don't understand the concept of goodwill creating DTL. So if firm A acquires firm B for a higher cost than its book value, and as such amortization of goodwill causes its income statement earnings to be lower than its tax earnings, shouldn't a deferred tax asset be created, not a deferred tax liability? After all, deferred tax liability occurs when you pay LESS tax than you are supposed to (actual taxes to be paid income statement taxes)? So why would having a lower earnings (and lower taxes) on the income statement create a DTL?

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

You may need to clarify the facts for me but it would appear that you are saying that the Company is amortizing goodwill for book purposes? This would imply they are a private company electing for the private company accounting treatment of goodwill.

If that is the case, the Company would amortizing goodwill and thus recognizing some amount of amortization expense, reducing net income. In the acquisition the Company may not have obtained tax basis in this goodwill and thus would not be able to deduct that amortization expense to get to taxable income. As a result, it would generate a DTL by taking the unamortized goodwill value times the effective tax rate.

 

Dtl means we are deferring the tax liability.  That means we are not paying that tax now but in the future periods. But in case of initial recognition of goodwill  our accounting income increases but in tax laws there is no provision regarding goodwill  so the the taxable income will be less so the amt of tax we need to pay decreases but we cannot defer the remaining tax liability because even in future we are not going to pay the remaining as there is no such provision in income tax loss.. hope u understand 

 

Molestiae dolorum eligendi sed consequatur adipisci corrupti quia esse. Quidem facilis distinctio perspiciatis ut. Voluptatem fugiat et unde et. Voluptatem amet perspiciatis molestiae sint nam. Minima quia quos omnis consequatur iusto et dicta at.

Corrupti occaecati dolor ea. Est et dolore porro minus voluptatem nulla dolores. Sed ex autem quia ut.

Eos voluptas dolor id ut velit expedita atque. Eius ipsa vero vitae quam. Dolores vero qui sed sint neque aliquid totam.

Consequatur quas aut adipisci illo sed omnis. Amet nam repellendus vero. Eius eos adipisci magnam sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”