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V5485-26 18 August 2026 · SG de Impuestos sobre las Personas Jurídicas Criterion in force
IS · arrendamiento financiero

Termination of a finance lease must be treated as a debt settlement in lieu of payment rather than debt forgiveness

The taxpayer queried the tax treatment of debt forgiveness following the termination of a finance lease agreement. The DGT ruled that, as the special regime was not proven, the transaction must be accounted for as a settlement in lieu of payment of the assets.

The question raised

Question posed: Tax treatment, for Corporate Income Tax purposes, of the forgiveness of debt arising from the termination of the financial lease contract in the tax period 20X16.

The DGT's ruling

The termination of the contract and the delivery of real estate are equivalent to the extinction of a debt through dation in payment. The real estate must be derecognized at its book value and the financial liability must be cancelled, recognizing the results in the profit and loss account. The difference between the fair value and the book value is an operating result, whereas the difference between the cancelled liability and the fair value is a financial result. These income and expenses shall be integrated into the tax base according to the accrual principle.

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