Purchase Price Allocation - Asset Write-Down Question

So I know that in an asset sale you can write up your assets' tax basis, allowing tax savings in the future. Does this also apply to write-downs? For example, in an asset sale could your assets be written down, causing you to pay more taxes in the future?

Furthermore, in a stock sale, does an Asset-Write-down create a DTA, like a Write-Up creates a DTL?

4 Comments
 
 
  1. That would be a "bargin sale" and create immediate ordinary income. If it does not result in negative goodwill you wouldn't have a taxable event, just less future tax savings.
  2. In a stock sale you would be better off not electing to treat it as an asset purchase because the original basis would be higher. However, if this did occur you would calculate the Aggregate Deemed Sales Price and the DTL/DTA stems from book and tax differences.
 

Don't think this is right. The whole idea of an asset purchase is that tax basis doesn't change - no goodwill and therefore no bargain sale. If you think about the accounting, you can't possibly have a gain and still have the BS balance unless you mark the asset above the price you purchased it (which you don't do in an asset sale)

To the OP second question, yeah DTL and DTA both can arise in an equity sale. DTA arising if you have an asset write down, although this will almost never happen

 

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