[GNC] Recommended Method of Entry for IRA Distributions

[Adrien Monteleone]

It is intuitive, but your issue is one of perspective:

 From *your* perspective, your bank account is your asset.

You increase it *in your books* by a Debit.

But from the *bank's* perspective, your account with them is their 
liability, and is increased by a Credit.

That is why when you put money in your account, or they refund or 
correct in your favor, they Credit your account. Because their liability 
to YOU is increasing.

But YOU would enter a Debit in your books.

Perfectly intuitive, just opposite sides of the equation.

The left-right/debit-credit is for all of accounting, not just GnuCash.

Regards,
Adrien

On 1/12/23 11:41 AM, R Losey wrote:
> Thanks; I know the information is out there, but intuitively, it doesn't
> make sense to me that depositing funds to my bank account is a "debit"
> transaction to the bank. It comes from the concept of credit being "added
> to" and debit being "substracted from", I suppose.
> 
> Is the "Debit on the left" and "Credit on the right" true in general
> accounting, or just GnuCash?
> 
> I've played with the toggling, but I like the informal names; it is much
> more intuitive, and I don't see a need to potentially confuse myself.