13. Income taxes
Composition of income taxes
The income tax expense of €113.0 million (2024: €220.5 million) consisted of €158.3 million in current tax expense (2024: €265.6 million) and €45.4 million in deferred tax income (2024: €45.1 million). The current tax expense included expenses of €5.1 million (2024: €3.4 million) relating to previous financial years. Of the deferred tax income, €61.5 million was attributable to the change in deferred taxes recognized on temporary differences (2024: €36.3 million). It also included deferred tax income of €38.0 million (on a net basis) in connection with the annual reduction in the German corporate income tax rate that will start in 2028. This tax rate will fall by 1 percentage point annually for five years, from its current level of 15.0 percent to 10.0 percent.
The recognition of deferred tax assets on tax loss carryforwards that already existed in the previous year gave rise to deferred tax income of €6.1 million (2024: €8.0 million). Utilization of tax loss carryforwards on which no deferred tax assets had been recognized in previous years led to a reduction in the current tax expense of €0.2 million (2024: €0.9 million).
The current corporate income tax rate in Germany is 15.0 percent plus a solidarity surcharge (5.5 percent of corporate income tax). Taking into account the average trade tax rate of 14.9 percent, the combined nominal tax rate for entities in Germany was 30.8 percent (2024: 30.7 percent).
Deferred tax assets and liabilities
|
2023 |
Change 2024 |
2024 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
in € million |
Deferred |
Deferred |
Deferred taxes balance sheet |
Deferred taxes recognized in profit or loss |
Deferred taxes not recognized in profit or loss |
Deferred |
Deferred |
Deferred taxes balance sheet |
Intangible assets and property, plant and equipment |
588.5 |
–1,038.6 |
–450.1 |
109.0 |
11.1 |
619.9 |
–949.9 |
–329.9 |
Other assets |
193.6 |
–634.7 |
–441.2 |
–16.9 |
–7.9 |
210.6 |
–676.5 |
–465.9 |
Provisions |
167.5 |
–36.1 |
131.5 |
28.9 |
–33.1 |
177.3 |
–50.1 |
127.2 |
Liabilities |
750.0 |
–107.7 |
642.3 |
–55.1 |
–3.7 |
711.3 |
–127.8 |
583.5 |
Deferred income |
80.7 |
–17.9 |
62.7 |
–4.4 |
–0.5 |
76.4 |
–18.6 |
57.8 |
Tax loss carry forwards and interest carry forwards |
97.5 |
– |
97.5 |
–16.2 |
–1.1 |
80.2 |
– |
80.2 |
Offsetting |
–1,388.4 |
1,388.4 |
– |
– |
– |
–1,434.8 |
1,434.8 |
– |
Total deferred taxes |
489.3 |
–446.7 |
42.7 |
45.4 |
–35.2 |
440.9 |
–388.0 |
52.9 |
In 2025, consolidated subsidiaries of the KION Group that reported losses for 2025 or 2024 recognized net deferred tax assets on temporary differences, loss carryforwards, and tax credits totaling €26.2 million (2024: €25.5 million). The assets were considered to be recoverable because the companies in question are expected to generate taxable income in the future.
As had also been the case in 2024, the deferred tax liabilities essentially related to hidden reserves identified in the purchase price allocation – particularly for intangible assets and property, plant and equipment – that had been carried out in connection with the acquisition of the Dematic Group.
No deferred taxes have been recognized on temporary differences of €217.8 million (2024: €212.0 million) between the net assets reported in the consolidated financial statements for the Group companies and the tax base for the shares held in these Group companies (outside basis differences) because the KION Group is in a position to manage the timing of the reversal of the temporary differences and the sale of equity investments is not probable in the foreseeable future.
The nominal income tax rates for foreign companies used in the calculation of deferred taxes were between 9.0 percent and 34.0 percent, as had also been the case in 2024.
Loss carryforwards
The KION Group’s corporation-tax loss carryforwards in Germany as at December 31, 2025 amounted to €241.0 million (December 31, 2024: €229.1 million), while trade-tax loss carryforwards stood at €222.1 million (December 31, 2024: €213.7 million). There were also tax loss carryforwards outside Germany totaling €1,044.5 million (December 31, 2024: €1,014.4 million).
The following table shows tax loss carryforwards, interest carryforwards, and temporary differences on which no deferred tax assets have been recognized.
in € million |
Dec. 31, 2025 |
Dec. 31, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
Tax loss carryforwards |
965.1 |
949.3 |
thereof not expiring |
375.4 |
367.4 |
thereof expiring within the next five years |
29.5 |
20.6 |
thereof expiring within the next six to nine years |
83.6 |
19.5 |
thereof expiring after more than nine years |
476.6 |
541.8 |
Interest carryforwards |
299.8 |
299.8 |
Temporary differences |
29.5 |
8.3 |
Total of items on which no deferred tax assets had been recognized |
1,294.4 |
1,257.4 |
The tax loss carryforwards shown in the table above that will expire are attributable to corporation-tax loss carryforwards at foreign companies. As a rule, corporation-tax loss carryforwards, trade-tax loss carryforwards, and interest carryforwards in Germany can be carried forward indefinitely.
The total amount of unrecognized deferred tax assets relating to loss carryforwards was €228.2 million (December 31, 2024: €236.5 million), of which €86.5 million (December 31, 2024: €91.1 million) concerned tax losses that can be carried forward indefinitely.
Reconciliation of effective income taxes
The table below shows the reconciliation of expected income tax expenses to effective income tax expenses. Expected income taxes are calculated using the combined nominal income tax rate of 30.8 percent (2024: 30.7 percent), which is the rate applicable to the German tax group of the Group parent company KION GROUP AG. The Group reconciliation is an aggregation of the individual company-specific reconciliations prepared in accordance with relevant local tax rates, taking into account consolidation effects recognized in income.
in € million |
2025 |
2024 |
|---|---|---|
Earnings before tax |
353.5 |
589.8 |
|
|
|
Anticipated income taxes |
–108.7 |
–181.1 |
Deviations due to the trade tax base |
–5.5 |
–7.1 |
Deviations from the anticipated tax rate |
16.1 |
18.7 |
Losses for which deferred taxes have not been recognized |
–33.5 |
–22.5 |
Change in tax rates and tax legislation |
38.0 |
0.1 |
Non-deductible expenses |
–24.0 |
–30.0 |
Non-taxable income/tax-exempt income/tax incentives |
14.3 |
13.5 |
Taxes relating to other periods |
–5.1 |
–3.4 |
Deferred taxes relating to prior periods |
–1.1 |
0.5 |
Non-creditable withholding tax |
–3.6 |
–4.6 |
Other |
0.2 |
–4.6 |
Effective income taxes (current and deferred taxes) |
–113.0 |
–220.5 |
Global minimum taxation
The rules introduced to ensure global minimum taxation of corporate groups, which stipulates an effective tax rate of at least 15 percent in every jurisdiction, apply to KION GROUP AG and its subsidiaries. To calculate the effective minimum tax rate in each affected jurisdiction, not only the KION Group companies but potentially also Weichai Power Co., Ltd. and its other subsidiaries must be taken into account. Based on the data at its disposal for 2025, the KION GROUP AG did not identify any material impact resulting from application of the global minimum tax rules. This was also the case in the previous year.
The KION Group has applied the temporary, mandatory exception to the obligation to recognize deferred taxes resulting from the introduction of global minimum tax.