Q. Show Credit and debit rules for expense?
The credit and debit rules for expense and Dividends accounts and for revenue accounts follow logically if you remember that expenses and dividends are decreases in stockholders' equity and revenues are increases in stockholders' equity. Ever since stockholders' equity accounts decrease on the debit side expense and Dividend accounts increase on the debit side.
Since stockholders' equity accounts raise on the credit side revenue accounts increase on the credit side. The last three credit and debit rules are:
- Diminish in revenue accounts are debits increases are credits.
- Raise in expense accounts are debits decreases are credits.
- Raise in Dividends accounts are debits decreases are credits.
Note first the management of expense and Dividends accounts as if they were sub classifications of the debit side of the Retained Earnings account.