"Double Dating" transactions?

[David Harrison]

On Wed, 2004-09-01 at 09:00, gnucash-user-request at gnucash.org wrote:

> 
> Message: 6
> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:46:43 -1100
> From: Bill Wisse <wiswp at niue.nu>
> Subject: Re: "Double Dating" transactions?
> To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Message-ID: <200408311246.43535.wiswp at niue.nu>
> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> On Tuesday 31 August 2004 09:59, JIm wrote:
> > Thomas John Vitolo wrote:
> > > Good sirs and madams:
> > >
> > > Is it possible to "double date" a transaction?
> >
> > Not that I know of.
> > I have found that when I feel the need to  "double date" a transaction,
> > what I really want to do is do two transactions.  That is take that money
> > out of one account and put it in another account on the first date, and
> > then take it out of that account and put it into a third on the second
> > date.
> >
> > As an example, you may want to take money out of income and put it into a
> > taxes paid account on one date (to get the tax paid in the right year) and
> > then when you get that rebate, it would come come
> 
>  All in all it is an interesting question and we really haven't seen any 
> straight forward solution.
> Are there no accountants on this list to give us an answer? :-)
> 
> -- 
> Remember:"Love is Hate. War is Peace. Windows is Stable."
> -- Anonymous
> 
> Greetings from
> /bill at 169 west , 19 south.  
> Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact, or fact are
> transmission errors."
> 

Hopefully, I can provide a straight forward answer.  You are absolutely
right that what you want to do is make (at least) two separate entries. 
If I remember the original question, it was in regards to income taxes
payable. Here are some assumptions that I will make in order to
illustrate how to deal with it:

1. Year end is December 31, 2003
2. Instalments were paid during the year.  For simplicity, I'll assume
one instalment on June 30, 2003 of $1,000.00
3. Taxes payable for the year were only $900.00, resulting in a refund
of $100.00
4. Refund was received May 15, 2004

Here are the entries that I would make:

June 30, 2003
Income taxes payable       $ 1,000.00 (debit)
   Bank                                  $1,000.00 (credit)

December 31, 2003
Income tax expense         $   900.00 (debit)
   Income tax payable                    $   900.00 (credit)

May 15, 2004
Bank                       $   100.00 (debit)
   Income tax payable                    $   100.00 (credit)

If more instalments are made during the year, they would accumulate in
the income tax payable account, and be entered in the same manner as the
first entry.

Also, in Canada, the refund would come with interest, which is taxable
in the year that you receive it.  This would be recorded as interest
income.

My disclaimer here is, while I am an accountant and work in public
practice, I have not yet graduated (one exam left, which I write
tonight).  Further, I am from Canada.  So, while accounting principles
are probably very similar, there may be differences.  Additionally, the
tax laws are certainly different.  So, you should always consult a
certified professional in your country for an answer specific to your
situation.

David