How to optimize your deferred operations?
How to optimise your deferred operations to pay less taxes.
If your company is small and is going to carry out a deferred operation that will be charged in several years, take advantage of the progressive reduction of Corporate Tax rates.
In this link, we tell you what the corporate tax rates will be in the coming years
In the coming years, the government has established a reduction in corporate tax. If you charge an operation in installments, do not charge it this year, but charge the collection to the corresponding years. You’ll win.
Let’s see how to optimise your installment operations taking advantage of the drop in corporate tax over the next few years.
What is a deferred sale?
Operation for more than a year
A deferred operation is a business that is done now, but that is charged later.
There are times when the customer does not have enough money, but you have confidence in him and give him the good or provide the service but charge it in the future.
If your company makes a sale with deferred payment and the period elapsed between the date of the operation and the expiration of the last agreed payment is more than one year, remember that you have two options when declaring the profit obtained in your Corporate Tax (IS):
- It can be taxed for said benefit according to the general rules, charging it in its entirety in the same year in which the operation occurs.
- Or it can take advantage of the special regime of installment operations and impute the profit in the IS as the corresponding collections are made, in proportion to these.
Accounting for deferred operations
In case you opt for this special system, at the time of sale you must account for the entire profit – as in a normal operation – but fiscally you can declare only the proportional part of profit corresponding to the amount collected.
For these purposes, you must make the corresponding negative and positive extra-accounting adjustments in your IS settlement.
Optimal expirations of a deferred operation
Well, if your company is small (invoice less than 10 million euros per year) or is a micro-SME (invoice less than one million euros), when agreeing on the deadlines for each payment, keep in mind that in the coming years the IS tax rates will be progressively reduced
Small companies are those that invoice less than 1 million euros per year
Example of a deferred operation
Postponed sale
In July 2025, his small company transmits its stake in a subsidiary for 800,000 euros, agreeing that it will receive 200,000 on the date of the operation and that it will receive three payments more than 200,000 euros in December 2025, 2026 and 2027.
If the acquisition value of that subsidiary was EUR 210,000 and it benefits from the regime of deferred operations:
| Concept | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| Accounting profit | 590.000 (1) | – | – |
| Extra-accountable adjustment | –295.000 (2) | 147.500 (3) | 147.500 (3) |
| Attributable profit | 295.000 | 147.500 | 147.500 |
| Tax type | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| IS Fee | 70.800 | 33.925 | 32.450 |
| Total cost | 137.175 (4) | ||
800,000 – 210,000 (Sale price – Acquisition value).
590,000 × 400,000/800,000 (Total Profit × Amount pending collection in subsequent years / Total amount to be collected).
590,000 × 200,000/800,000 (Total profit × Amount collected in the year / Total amount to be collected).
If your company did not take advantage of the special regime and declared the entire benefit in 2025, its taxation would be 141,600 euros (590,000 × 24%).
How to optimise your deferred operations?
Well, if instead of receiving deferred payments in December, to optimise your deferred operations, you delay your collection until January of the following year (charging 200,000 euros in July 2025 and 200,000 in January 2026, 2027 and 2028), part of your profit will be taxed at lower rates, and you will save 4,425 euros in your IS:
| Concept | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
| Accounting profit | 590.000 | – | – | – |
| Extra-accountable adjustment | –442.500 | 147.500 | 147.500 | 147.500 |
| Attributable profit | 147.500 | 147.500 | 147.500 | 147.500 |
| Tax type | 24% | 23% | 22% | 21% |
| IS Fee | 35.400 | 33.925 | 32.450 | 30.975 |
| Total cost | 132.750 | |||
Interesting, isn’t it?
In summary
To optimise your deferred operations, check if you can adjust the payment date so that a greater part of the profit obtained is taxed at lower tax rates.
In this way, your taxation in the Corporate Tax will be reduced.
