<![CDATA[Earnings management remains a critical concern in corporate financial reporting because it may reduce the reliability of earnings information used by stakeholders in decision-making. In the banking sector, this issue is particularly significant due to stringent regulatory oversight and the need to maintain the credibility of financial statements. Tax-related policies, particularly tax planning and deferred tax expense, are among the factors that may influence earnings management practices. This study aims to examine the effects of tax planning and deferred tax expense on earnings management in banking sub-sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2023–2025. A quantitative approach with an associative research design was employed. The sample comprised 27 banking companies, yielding 81 firm-year observations selected through purposive sampling. Secondary data were obtained from annual financial statements and analyzed using multiple linear regression with IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. The findings indicate that tax planning has a significant effect on earnings management, whereas deferred tax expense does not have a significant effect. Simultaneously, tax planning and deferred tax expense significantly influence earnings management. These results demonstrate that tax-related policies are relevant to understanding earnings management practices, although their individual effects differ. This study contributes recent empirical evidence on the determinants of earnings management in the banking sector and provides practical implications for companies in formulating tax strategies that remain compliant with applicable regulations, while also offering useful insights for investors and regulators in evaluating the reliability of financial reporting.]]>
