Difference Between Capital Expenditure and Revenue Expenditure
Main difference
The main difference between capital expense and revenue expense is that capital expense is assumed to be consumed over the useful life of the related fixed asset while revenue expense is assumed to be consumed in a very short period.
Capital Expenditure vs. Revenue Expenditure
Capital spending is a long-term expense and therefore has a long-term effect on the business. Not depleted within an existing accounting year. In contrast, spending on income is short-term. Your benefits received within the existing accounting year. Capital expenditure refers to improving an acquired asset or the value of an existing asset. With the expense of income, there is no acquisition or enhancement of the value of an asset.
Capital expenditures have a physical existence excluded from intangible assets. On the other hand, revenue expense does not have a tangible presence as it is incurred on business items used in day-to-day business operations. Capital expenditures are miscellaneous, non-recurring revenue expenditures that are regular and occur repeatedly. Capital spending helps a company grow the business, while revenue spending helps maintain the business.
A portion of the capital expenditures is usually shown on the profit and loss account, and the balance is shown on the asset side of the balance sheet. With revenue expenses, the full amount is always shown on an income statement or business profit and loss account.
Comparison chart
| capital expenditures | Current expenditure |
| The expense or expenses that are perceived in obtaining a capital good or in increasing the volume of a current or existing one, causing development in its years of life. | Expenses received in adaptive or regulatory actions of the corporate day to day. |
| Capitalization | |
| Yes | No |
| Finished | |
| Long-term | short term |
| It is shown in | |
| Income statement and balance sheet | Statement of income |
| Disbursement | |
| Non-recurring | Newspaper |
| earning capacity | |
| Seeks to improve the ability to generate income | Maintain the ability to earn money |
| Benefit | |
| More than a year | Only in the current accounting year |
| matching concept | |
| Does not correspond to capital income | Matched with revenue receipts |
What is capital spending?
Capital expenditures are expenditures or expenditures on objects or items of great value that encompass extended duration or period requirements. These expenses are long-term expenses. That is, and when disbursements are prepared for a specific asset, however, these are not completely exhausted in a given period.
As a result of this, the volume of acquisitions or earnings grows, and meanwhile, the cost of assets falls or decreases. Therefore, future costs or expenses are reduced because asset prices are constantly rising with respect to the depreciation that occurs.
Types
- Cash spent for business purposes
- Purchase of machinery and plant objects
- IT elements
- Electric tools
- Durable or permanent accompaniments to current fixed assets
What is income expense?
Unlike capital expenditures, revenue expenditures are not high-value items. In their place are the repetitive or routine expenses that occur in the usual business. In a nutshell, this type of spending or expense maintains capital or fixed assets. Income expenses, profit does not increase; however, stay sharp. Assets are depleted or consumed in a fiscal or reference year and no future benefits are presented. In addition, the costs of the assets remain fixed or stable.
Assets spent in less than a year, therefore, it is critical to get them back. This expense is a kind of repetitive output. Instances of income expenses are electricity costs, wages and salaries, maintenance and repair expenses, stationery and printing, inventory, insurance, postage, taxes, etc.
Types
- Direct Expenses: These expenses comprise the production price of the raw material to convert it into a finished or finished good. Productive salaries and labor wages, legal expenses, delivery costs, water and electricity bills, rent, fuel costs, packaging expenses, commissions, etc.
- Indirect expenses: These expenses associated only with the sale and sale of products other than production, such as depreciation, wages, machinery, furniture and fixtures, etc.
- Capital spending produces future monetary benefits, and revenue spending creates benefits for the existing year only.
- Capital expenditure shown in the records, on the asset side, and the statement or profit and loss account (depreciation); however, revenue expenses are shown only on the profit and loss statement.
- Capital spending is a long-term expense, while revenue spending is a short-term expense.
- Capital expenditures not coordinated with income or capital income, contrasting income expenditures, which coordinated income.
- The main difference between the two is that capital spending is a one-time cash investment, while revenue spending is frequently.
- Capital expenditures financed or capitalized in lieu of revenue expenditures, which are not financed.
- Capital expenditures try to progress in the volume of production of the entity. On the other hand, revenue expenditure targets to maintain the company’s production volume.
Final Thoughts
Both capital expenditures and revenue expenditures are substantial for businesses to generate revenue in the current and subsequent years. Regarding capital expenditures, the company purchased an asset that generates earnings for future years. Whereas no asset purchased as such in relation to income expense.