This study is a quantitative research effort that aims to empirically examine the influence of tax planning and deferred tax expense on earnings management, with managerial ownership functioning as a moderating variable. The research focuses on manufacturing companies in the food and beverage sector listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the period 2021–2023. The study population consisted of 94 companies, from which 18 companies were selected as research samples using a purposive sampling technique based on specific criteria. The data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method with the assistance of SmartPLS version 4.0.9.9 software. The findings of this research reveal that tax planning does not significantly affect earnings management, and similarly, deferred tax expense has no significant effect on earnings management. Furthermore, managerial ownership is found to be ineffective in moderating the relationship between both tax planning and deferred tax expense on earnings management. These results suggest that internal ownership structures may not play a substantial role in influencing the extent to which companies engage in earnings management through tax-related strategies. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting the limited moderating role of corporate governance mechanisms in the context of tax-based financial reporting decisions, particularly in the food and beverage manufacturing sector.