For the purchases day book, what is debited and what is credited in a double-entry posting?

• A. Debit expense accounts (the net totals); Debit VAT control account (the VAT total); Credit the payables ledger control account (the gross total)
• B. Debit the payables ledger control account (the gross total); Credit the expense accounts (the net totals); Credit the VAT control account (the VAT total)
• C. Debit the purchases day book; Credit cash book
• D. Debit the cash book; Credit the purchases day book

Answer: (A)

When you record a credit purchase, you’re recognising the cost of goods and the amount of VAT you can reclaim, while also creating a liability to the supplier for the gross total. The correct posting is to debit the expense (purchases) for the net amount, debit the VAT control (input VAT) for the VAT amount, and credit the payables ledger control (the supplier liability) for the gross amount (net + VAT). This keeps the books in balance because net plus VAT equals gross.

The cash book isn’t involved at this stage, since the purchase was on credit; cash would come into play only when payment is made. The other options would either misstate the accounts affected (for example, moving the gross amount to a liability in the wrong place or tying the transaction to cash instead of credit) or reverse the correct relationships between expenses, VAT, and payables.