A future tax saving resulting from a temporary difference between accounting and taxable income is called a deferred tax asset.
Temporary differences arise when accounting rules and tax rules recognize the same income or expense in different periods. If an expense is recognized in accounting before it becomes tax-deductible, the company may expect a tax deduction later. That anticipated future benefit is recorded as a deferred tax asset, subject to the recognition rules of the applicable accounting framework.
A familiar example is a provision for bad debts. Accounting may recognize the expected loss before tax law allows a deduction, often waiting until the debt is actually written off. Tax-loss carryforwards can also create deferred tax assets because losses may reduce taxable income in later profitable periods.
This is not the same as tax payable, which represents tax currently owed, or a deferred tax liability, which reflects future tax amounts expected to arise from taxable temporary differences. Under IAS 12 and similar standards, a deferred tax asset may need to be reduced or not recognized when sufficient future taxable profit is not probable enough to use the expected benefit.