I'm having trouble conceptualizing Error Correction Entries in Accounting.

Take this example, "A tax lawsuit that involved the year 2018 was settled in 2020. It was determined that the company owed an additional $81,000 in tax related to 2018. The company did not record a liability in 2018 or 2019, because the possibility of losing was considered remote. The company charged the $81,000 to retained earnings in 2020 as a correction of a prior year's error."

According to the solutions, the correct entry is:

DR. Current Tax Expense 81,000

CR. Retained Earnings 81,000

Another example, "Gomez purchased another company early in 2016 and recorded goodwill of $500,000. Gomez amortized $25,000 of goodwill in 2016, and $50,000 in each subsequent year. The tax treatment for goodwill was properly applied"

Solution:

DR. Goodwill 225,000

CR. Amortization Expense 50,000

CR. Retained Earnings 175,000

If anyone has a clear way of explaining this concept, and maybe using either of these examples to help, I would really appreciate it!