What is a T-account?

A T-account is an uppercase or capital T that is used by accountants to visualize a general ledger account. The account title is written on the top portion of the T. Debit balances and debit entry amounts are shown on the left side of the T. Credit balances and credit entry amounts are shown on the right side.

Because of double-entry accounting, accountants will draw a minimum of two T-accounts in order to visualize the complete impact of a transaction on the financial records. T-accounts allow the accountant to be certain that the proposed journal entry will have debit amounts equal to the credit amounts. In addition the accountant can see the account balances that will result from the proposed journal entry.

T-accounts are very helpful when preparing Adjusting Entries.