The easiest place to find Total Gross Assets is your U.S. Form 1120 Schedule L for the same fiscal year as your annual report filing. Delaware law references this form directly.
So if you’re filing your 2024 annual report, use your tax form for the fiscal year that ended in 2024.
One good reason to use what you reported on Form 1120 Schedule L: “The Secretary of State may at any time require a true and correct copy of such schedule to be filed with the Secretary of State’s office.”
However, there are several common situations where this isn’t possible or can be confusing. We’ve addressed them below.
The Assumed Par Value method, when multiple periods are involved, is a prorated calculation. That means, for each period, you use a “Gross Assets” number and an “Asset Date”.
For each period, you must use a gross assets number that is “as of the nearest date on which the amount is obtainable,” within 30 days of the period end date, as long as it’s in the same year.
If the period doesn’t have an end date, it’s your fiscal year end. This is a little confusing, given that your fiscal year-end date may actually come before other periods on the franchise tax filing, but that's how Delaware's calculation works.
If there is only one time period on the franchise tax filing, you use your Gross Assets as listed on the U.S. Form 1120 Schedule L tax form for the same year.
So if you have one period on your 2024 franchise tax filing, and your Fiscal Year end is January, you would use your gross assets from your U.S. Form 1120 Schedule L for the Fiscal Year ending January 2024.
If you have multiple periods on your franchise tax form, each period must use Gross Assets as of the nearest date within 30 days of that period's end date. For the final period that extends through your fiscal year-end, use gross assets from the fiscal year-end date.
If your federal return is not yet filed, Delaware allows you to use the most recent internal balance sheet representing your corporation's actual total assets. You may amend your franchise tax filing later once the federal return is completed, and the Secretary of State may request supporting documentation.
Yes. Discern customers can digitally file their Delaware franchise taxes directly from the product, with the amount owed calculated automatically. For customers who owe $5,000 or more in Delaware franchise taxes, Discern also sends notifications when quarterly estimated taxes are due throughout the year.
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