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expense

 
Dictionary: ex·pense   (ĭk-spĕns') pronunciation
 
n.
    1. Something spent to attain a goal or accomplish a purpose: an expense of time and energy on the project.
    2. A loss for the sake of something gained; a sacrifice: achieved speed at the expense of accuracy.
  1. An expenditure of money; a cost: an improvement that was well worth the expense; a trip with all expenses paid.
  2. expenses
    1. Charges incurred by an employee in the performance of work: was reimbursed for her travel expenses.
    2. Informal. Money allotted for payment of such charges.
  3. Something requiring the expenditure of money: Redecorating the house will be a considerable expense.
  4. Archaic. The act of expending.
tr.v., -pensed, -pens·ing, -pens·es.
  1. To charge with expenses.
  2. To write off as an expense.
idiom:

at (one's) expense

  1. To one's detriment or chagrin: telling jokes at my expense.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin (pecūnia) expēnsa, (money) paid out, feminine past participle of expendere, to pay out. See expend.]


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1. The economic costs that a business incurs through its operations to earn revenue. In order to maximize profits, businesses must attempt to reduce expenses without also cutting into revenues. Since expenses are such an important indicator of a business' operations, there are specific accounting rules on expense recognition.

2. Money spent or costs incurred that are tax-deductible and reduce your taxable income.

Investopedia Says:
1. Expenses are the opposite of revenues. Examples of expense include payments to suppliers, employee wages, factory leases and depreciation.

2. Tax authorities frequently have very specific regulations that allow people to deduct certain expenses if used for business-related activities. For example, a traveling salesperson is allowed to deduct traveling expenses (fuel expenses and car rental costs) as a business deduction, because those costs are an integral part of the job.

Related Links:
Learn this easy-to-understand technique of analyzing a company's financial statements and reports. Introduction To Fundamental Analysis
Learn how to use revenue and expenses, among other factors, to break down and analyze a company. Understanding The Income Statement
Appreciate the different methods used to describe how book value is "used up". Valuing Depreciation With Straight-Line Or Double-Declining Methods


 
Business Dictionary: Expense
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1. Business cost incurred in operating and maintaining property. For purposes of information and in reporting to shareholders of publicly held corporations, expenses are calculated as the cost of goods and services used in the process of profit-directed business activities.

2. Costs that are currently deductible, as opposed to Capital Expenditures, which may not be currently deducted but must be depreciated or amortized over the useful life of the property. Certain costs may be expensed for accounting purposes but may not be deductible or may be deductible later for tax purposes (goodwill, for example, and bad debts under the allowance method). Other costs may be tax deductible earlier than for accounting purposes (such as intangible drilling costs).

 
Thesaurus: expense
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noun

  1. Something expended to obtain a benefit or desired result: cost, disbursement, expenditure, outlay. See transactions.
  2. A loss sustained in the accomplishment of or as the result of something: cost, price, sacrifice, toll1. See transactions.

 
Antonyms: expense
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n

Definition: cost
Antonyms: payment


 
Law Dictionary: Expenses
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Costs that are currently deductible as opposed to capital expenditures which may not be currently deducted but which either must be depreciated or amortized over the useful life of the property, or which may not be deducted at all.

lobbying expense those incurred in promoting or evaluating legislation. The Revenue Act of 1993 provides that no deduction is allowed as a trade or business expense for any amount paid or incurred in connection with the influencing legislation. (I.R.C. §162(e)(a)(A) as amended by 1993 Act §13222(a)). Under pre-1993 Act law, the taxpayer was allowed a deduction for certain expenses (including travel expenses, costs of preparing testimony and a portion of dues) paid in carrying on a trade or business if the expenses were in direct connection with: (1) appearances before, submitting statements to, or sending communications to Congress or any legislative body regarding legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to the taxpayer, or (2) communications or information between taxpayer and an organization of which he or she was a member relating to legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to the taxpayer and the organization. Expenses relating to the participation in or intervention in any political campaign or attempts to influence the general public on legislative matters were not deductible.

The 1993 Act does not affect deductions for costs of attempting to influence a regulatory or administrative agency with respect to its rules and regulations, since administrative regulations are not legislation.

medical expense a deduction allowed to a taxpayer for amounts actually expended during the taxable year for diagnoses, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease or affecting any structure or function of the body and associated transportation costs. However, such deduction is only allowed to the extent it exceeds 71⁄2 percent of adjusted gross income. Moreover, expenses for medicine and drugs are allowed as a deduction only if the latter must be obtained by prescription or if insulin is used. I.R.C. §213.

moving expense deduction allowed to a taxpayer for the reasonable expenses of moving his or her residence from one location to another if such move meets certain specified technical requirements regarding distance moved and length of stay. I.R.C. §217.

organization expense deduction allowed to a newly formed corporation may deduct the costs of organizing the corporation over a period of not less than five years if such costs are paid or incurred before the end of the first taxable year in which the corporation commences business. I.R.C. §248. Similarly, a partnership may deduct the amounts paid or incurred in organizing the partnership or in promoting the sale of an interest in the partnership, over a period of not less than five years. I.R.C. §709.

personal expense in general, a personal living or family expense is not allowable as a deduction from gross income. I.R.C. §262. Certain expenses, however, such as mortgage interest, certain taxes, bad debts, medical expenses, and charitable contributions are deductible if the taxpayer itemizes his or her deductions.

trade or business expense deduction allowed to a taxpayer for all "ordinary and necessary" expenses incurred with respect to the taxpayer's trade or business. I.R.C. §162.

 
Word Tutor: expense
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Money spent or needed for carrying out a job.

pronunciation The cost of the meal was an expense of the business trip.

 
Wikipedia: Expense
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Expenses redirects here. For the current row about members' expenses in the UK Parliament, see Disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament.

Contents

In common usage, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive".

In accounting, expense has a very specific meaning. It is an outflow of cash or other valuable assets from a person or company to another person or company. This outflow of cash is generally one side of a trade for products or services that have equal or better current or future value to the buyer than to the seller. Technically, an expense is an event in which an asset is used up or a liability is incurred. In terms of the accounting equation, expenses reduce owners' equity. The International Accounting Standards Board defines expenses as

...decreases in economic benefits during the accounting period in the form of outflows or depletions of assets or incurrences of liabilities that result in decreases in equity, other than those relating to distributions to equity participants.[1]

Bookkeeping for expenses

In double-entry bookkeeping, expenses are recorded as a debit to an expense account (an income statement account) and a credit to either an asset account or a liability account, which are balance sheet accounts. An expense decreases assets or increases liabilities. Typical business expenses include salaries, utilities, depreciation of capital assets, and interest expense for loans. The purchase of a capital asset such as a building or equipment is not an expense.

Cash flow

In a cash flow statement, expenditures are divided into operating, investing, and financing expenditures.

An important issue in accounting is whether a particular expenditure is classified as an expense, which is reported immediately on the business's income statement; or whether it is classified as a capital expenditure or an expenditure subject to depreciation, which is not an expense. These latter types of expenditures are reported as expenses when they are depreciated by businesses that use accrual-basis accounting, which is most large businesses and all C corporations.

The most common interpretation of whether an expense is of capital or income variety depends upon its term. Viewing an expense as a purchase helps alleviate this distinction. If, soon after the "purchase", that which was expensed holds no value then it is usually identified as an expense. If it retains value soon and long after the purchase, it will be viewed as capital with life that should be amortized/depreciated and retained on the Balance Sheet.

Deduction of business expenses under the US tax code

For tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Code permits the deduction of business expenses in the taxable year in which those expenses are paid or incurred. This is in contrast to capital expenditures[2] that are paid or incurred to acquire an asset. Expenses are costs that do not acquire, improve, or prolong the life of an asset. For example, a person who buys a new truck for a business would be making a capital expenditure because they have acquired a new business-related asset. This cost could not be deducted in the current taxable year. However, the gas the person buys during that year to fuel that truck would be considered a deductible expense. The cost of purchasing gas does not improve or prolong the life of the truck but simply allows the truck to run.[3]

Even if something qualifies as an expense, it is not necessarily deductible. As a general rule, expenses are deductible if they relate to a taxpayer’s trade or business activity or if the expense is paid or incurred in the production or collection of income from an activity that does not rise to the level of a trade or business (investment activity).

Section 162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is the deduction provision for business or trade expenses. In order to be a trade or business expense and qualify for a deduction, it must satisfy 5 elements in addition to qualifying as an expense. It must be (1) ordinary and (2) necessary (Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, defines this as necessary for the development of the business at least in that they were appropriate and helpful). Expenses paid to preserve one’s reputation do not appear to qualify (Welch v. Helvering). In addition, it must be (3) paid or incurred during the taxable year. It must be paid (4) in carrying on (meaning not prior to the start of a business or in creating it) (5) a trade or business activity. To qualify as a trade or business activity, it must be continuous and regular, and profit must be the primary motive.

Section 212 of the Internal Revenue Code is the deduction provision for investment expenses. In addition to being an expense and satisfying elements 1-4 above, expenses are deductible as an investment activity under Section 212 of the Internal Revenue Code if they are (1) for the production or collection of income, (2) for the management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for the production of income, or (3) in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax.

In investing, one controversy that mounted throughout 2002 and 2003 was whether companies should report the granting of stock options to employees as an expense on the income statement, or should not report this at all in the income statement, which is what had previously been the norm.

See also

References

  1. ^ IFRS Framework, F.70
  2. ^ Capital expenditures must recovered over a period of years through depreciation and amortization. See also Expenses versus Capital Expenditures
  3. ^ For more on this subject, see Donaldson, Samuel A., Federal Income Taxation of Individuals: Cases, Problems and Materials 170-73 (2d ed. 2007).

External links


 
Translations: Expense
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - udgift, godtgørelse, bekostning
v. tr. - udgiftsføre

idioms:

  • at the expense of    på bekostning af
  • expense account    repræsentationskonto, udgiftskonto
  • go to the expense of    sætte sig i udgift for

Nederlands (Dutch)
onkosten, uitgave, aftrekpost, onkostenvergoeding, iets wat geld/energie kost, opoffering, onkosten laten vergoeden, het op de onkostenrekening zetten, als onkosten opschrijven

Français (French)
n. - frais, dépenses, charge, débours, (Jur) frais, (fig) aux dépens de, au détriment de, aux crochets de, au prix de
v. tr. - faire payer/passer en frais

idioms:

  • at the expense of    aux dépens de, aux frais de
  • expense account    (Comm) frais de représentation, note de frais
  • go to great expense    s'engager/se lancer dans de grosses dépenses, faire beaucoup de frais
  • go to the expense of    faire la dépense de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Spesen, Kosten, Ausgabe
v. - von der Steuer absetzen

idioms:

  • at the expense of    auf Kosten
  • expense account    Spesenkonto
  • go to great expense    sich in große Unkosten stürzen
  • go to the expense of    für etwas viel Geld bezahlen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έξοδα/-ο, δαπάνες/-η, (οικονομική) επιβάρυνση, βάρος, ακρίβεια

idioms:

  • at the expense of    εις βάρος του, δαπάναις, με (οικονομική) επιβάρυνση του, με θυσία, με αντίτιμο
  • expense account    (οικον.) (λογαριασμός για) έξοδα παραστάσεως
  • go to the expense of    μπαίνω στα έξοδα να

Italiano (Italian)
spesa, spese

idioms:

  • at the expense of    a spese di
  • at the expense of someone/something    alle spese di
  • expense account    conto spese
  • go to the expense of    andare alle spese di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - custo (m), gasto (m)

idioms:

  • at the expense of    às expensas de
  • at the expense of someone/something    às expensas de alguém
  • expense account    conta de despesa
  • go to the expense of    lançar às expensas de

Русский (Russian)
расходы, траты, затраты

idioms:

  • at the expense of    за счет
  • at the expense of someone/something    за счет кого/чего-нибудь
  • expense account    отчет о расходах
  • go to the expense of    выделить средства на что-либо

Español (Spanish)
n. - gasto, costa, expensas
v. tr. - gastar, costar

idioms:

  • at the expense of    a costa de, a expensas de
  • expense account    cuenta de gastos de representación
  • go to great expense    llegar a costa de
  • go to the expense of    meterse a gastar en

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - utgift, kostnad

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
费用, 损失, 代价, 向...收取费用, 把...记入费用帐, 把...作为开支勾销

idioms:

  • at the expense of    归...付费, 在损害...的情况下
  • expense account    费用账户
  • go to the expense of    为...的目的花钱

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 費用, 損失, 代價
v. tr. - 向...收取費用, 把...記入費用帳, 把...作為開支勾銷

idioms:

  • at the expense of    歸...付費, 在損害...的情況下
  • expense account    費用賬戶
  • go to the expense of    為...的目的花錢

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 지출, 손실
v. tr. - 비용의 항목을 과세 수입에 대한 비용으로 상쇄하다

idioms:

  • at the expense of    ~의 비용을 부담하고
  • go to the expense of    막대한 비용을 들이다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 支出, 出費, 費用, 消費, 経費, 所要経費, 犠牲, 出費のかかるもの

idioms:

  • at the expense of    費用を負担して, 犠牲にして
  • at the expense of someone/something    ~を犠牲にして
  • expense account    費用勘定, その金, 交際費
  • go to the expense of    金を使う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نفقه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הוצאה, מחיר‬
v. tr. - ‮רשם כהוצאה‬


 
 

 

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