In accounting why is an asset account a debit, rather than credit, account?

Question

An expense account is also a debit account, which makes sense; and why are liabilities considered a credit account?

Answer 1

The way I understand it is you debit things that would add to what you already own and credit things that you owe to other entities. This is why liabilities are a credit account - if you accumulate more debt you would accumulate more credit. An asset is a debit because it adds value to what you already own. An expense is also a debit because you assume that any expense is used to improve on things that you already own. The only difference is an asset would stay in the books for periods to come because their benefits can be spread over a number of periods, whereas an expense can only be recorded in the period which it occurs, because the benefits are not long-term, usually. Hope that makes sense.

Answer 2

Hi. Because you deduct from your holdings rather than from future assets.