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Accounting & Tax vocabulary · Assets, Liabilities & Equity

Write off

Meaning in accounting & tax, with examples

phrasal verbCommon term

In accounting & tax, write off means: To remove an asset, such as an unpaid receivable or damaged stock, from the books because it no longer has value, recording the loss as an expense.

In Turkish: kayıttan düşmek, aktiften silmek, gider yazmak

How it is used

Used as a phrasal verb (write off a debt, write it off) and as a noun (a write-off). A write-down only reduces the value of an asset; a write-off removes it completely.

Example sentences

  1. We had to write off the damaged stock after the warehouse flood.

  2. The write-off of the old software reduced profit by 3 million lira.

Common collocations

  • write off a debt
  • write off inventory
  • write it off
  • write down
  • bad debtMoney owed by a customer that the company no longer expects to collect, for example because the customer has gone bankrupt.
  • impairmentA fall in the value of an asset below the amount shown in the books, recorded as a loss so that the asset is not overstated.
  • inventoryGoods a business holds to sell, plus the raw materials and unfinished products used to make them. It is a current asset on the balance sheet.
  • provisionA liability recorded for an expected future cost whose exact amount or timing is uncertain, such as a lawsuit, warranty claims or restructuring.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Assets, Liabilities & Equity

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.