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Tanner, Inc. incurred a financial and taxable loss for 2013. Tanner therefore decided to use the carryback provisions as it had been profitable up to this year. How should the amounts related to the carryback be reported in the 2013 financial statements?

1) The reduction of the loss should be reported as a prior period adjustment.
2) The refund claimed should be reported as a deferred charge and amortized over five years.
3) The refund claimed should be reported as revenue in the current year.
4) The refund claimed should be shown as a reduction of the loss in 2013.

User Tuze
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Tanner, Inc. should report the refund from the carryback of the 2013 taxable loss as revenue in the current year's financial statements. This correctly represents the tax recovery due to the current loss and it's recognized in the year the loss occurred, not as a prior period adjustment or deferred charge.

The correct option is 4) The refund claimed should be shown as a reduction of the loss in 2013.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Tanner, Inc. decided to use the carryback provisions due to a financial and taxable loss in 2013, the way to report the amounts related to carryback in the financial statements is specific. According to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), when a company has a net operating loss that is carried back to a prior period, the benefit of the carryback is recognized in the year in which the loss occurs.

The correct method for reporting this in the financial statements is option 3: The refund claimed should be reported as revenue in the current year. This creates a receivable from the government for the carryback period, which is the amount of taxes paid in previous years that are now recoverable because of the current loss. Therefore, recognizing it as revenue reflects the reduction in tax expense attributable to the carryback.

It is incorrect to report the reduction of the loss as a prior period adjustment (option 1), because the carryback does not alter the company's net income in the prior period that the loss is carried back to. It is also inappropriate to report the refund as a deferred charge (option 2) or to show the refund as a direct reduction of the loss in 2013 (option 4).

In conclusion, with the application of carryback provisions, Tanner, Inc. should report the refund as revenue in the 2013 financial statements. This approach reflects the recoverable taxes and benefits from the loss carryback.

User JEremyB
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