ITAA Tussentijdse Proeven cheat sheet

The accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity; every journal entry keeps this balance, so total debits always equal total credits.

Double-entry rule: debit increases assets and expenses, credit increases liabilities, equity and income; the reverse decreases each.

Accrual basis: revenue is recognised when earned and costs when incurred, regardless of cash timing; matching pairs expenses with the income they generate.

Depreciation methods: straight-line = (cost − residual value) / useful life; declining balance applies a fixed percentage to the carrying amount each year.

Inventory valuation under IAS 2: lower of cost and net realisable value; cost includes purchase price, conversion costs and costs to bring inventory to its present location and condition.

Period-end adjustments: accruals, prepayments, depreciation, provisions and inventory revaluation must be booked before the trial balance is finalised.

A trial balance proves arithmetic equality of debits and credits only; it does not detect compensating errors, omissions of complete entries, or posting to the wrong account of the same side.

VAT mechanism: output VAT on sales minus input VAT on purchases equals VAT payable; VAT is borne by the final consumer, not the taxable business.

Belgian VAT return is periodic (monthly or quarterly depending on turnover) and must be filed and paid by the statutory deadline to avoid late-payment interest and penalties.

Corporate income tax base = accounting profit adjusted for non-deductible items (e.g. certain fines, excess car costs, non-justified expenses) and for exempt income.

Personal income tax is progressive: each bracket applies only to the portion of taxable income falling within it, producing the marginal rate effect.

Withholding tax on dividends and interest is deducted at source; the rate depends on the applicable convention and national rules, and reduced rates usually require formalities.

Deductibility conditions: an expense must be incurred for the business purpose, be supported by documents, and be booked in the correct financial year to be tax-deductible.

Advance tax payments (voorafbetalingen) reduce the final corporate tax bill; insufficient prepayments trigger a separate surcharge calculated on the shortfall.