What is a debit in accounting?

What is a debit in accounting?

What is a debit you may ask? First lets clear the air about debits in accounting and debit cards. While there can be similarities drawn I would ask you to forget what you know about debit cards while reading the below.



A debit is used in double entry accounting to represent the transactions that have occurred on the 'left' side of the ledger or 'T' account. Those on the 'left' side are 'debit'. Feel free to check what is a credit in accounting for more information on credit.

The short form for a debit is Dr. You might see the abbreviation more often than not.

When looking from an accounting perspective a debit can either increase or decrease an account depending on the account type:

A debit will increase Assets
A debit will decrease Liabilities
A debit will decrease Incomes or Revenues
A debit will increase Expenses
A debit will decrease Equity or Capital