Subject. The article considers the essence of the concept of "actual tax liability", which has no legislative consolidation.
Objectives. The aim is to provide legal justification for the concept of "actual tax liability", explain the relationship between such concepts as "fiscal obligation", "tax liability", and "actual tax liability", determine the specifics of calculating the amount of actual tax liability.
Methods. The study employs general scientific and special methods, i.e. analysis, synthesis, generalization, analogy, systems analysis, and others.
Results. I reviewed and summarized various viewpoints on definition of the essence of the concept of "tax obligation", determined the relationship between the concepts of "fiscal obligation", "tax liability", and "actual tax liability", provided legal substantiation of the concept of "actual tax liability". The paper highlights the specifics of calculating the amount of actual tax liability.
Conclusions. The tax liability concept is not enshrined in the legislation on taxes and duties, however, its essence can be disclosed through the legislation on accounting. When conducting tax audits and revealing incorrect calculations of the amount of tax liability, tax authorities are obliged to calculate actual tax liability based on actual financial and economic activities of the taxpayer. The main condition of the calculation is that it should not lead to more onerous taxation. However, in some cases, namely, when Article 54.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is applied and the taxpayer refuses to assist the tax authorities, the latter may calculate a larger amount of tax liability than the actual one.