Longboat, Inc. sold a luxury passenger boat from its inventory on December 31 for $2,000,000. It is estimated that Longboat will incur $100,000 in warranty expenses during its 5-year warranty period. Longboat’s tax rate is 30%. To account for the tax implications of the warranty obligation prior to incurring warranty expenses, Longboat should:

Warranty expense should be recorded when the inventory item covered by the warranty is sold. A deferred tax asset is created when warranty expenses are accrued on the financial statements but are not deductible on the tax returns until the warranty claims are paid. The full amount of the obligation, $100,000, is recorded as an expense, with a deferred tax asset of $30,000. Note that a deferred tax asset results when taxable income is more than pretax income and the difference is likely to reverse (warranty will be paid) in future years.