Is interest expense a debit or a credit?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking whether interest expense should be recorded as a debit or a credit in accounting. Typically, an interest expense is a cost incurred by a business and is recorded as a debit because it increases expenses on the income statement.
Answer
a debit
The final answer is a debit
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is a debit
More Information
Interest expense is recorded as a debit in accounting because expenses are always debited to increase their balance.
Tips
A common mistake is confusing an expense account with a liability account, which operates differently in terms of debit and credit.
Sources
- Interest Expense Accounting - freshbooks.com
- Interest Expense: Definition, Example, and Calculation - Deskera - deskera.com
- Interest Expenses: How They Are Recorded On Income Statement - LiveFlow - liveflow.io