What is a debit balance?

There are several meanings for the term debit balance. They are as follows:

• Accounting. An account balance where there is a positive balance in the left side of the account. Accounts that normally have a debit balance include assets, expenses, and losses. Contra accounts that normally have debit balances include the contra liability, contra equity, and contra revenue accounts.
• Bank account. A negative cash balance in a checking account with a bank. Such an account is said to be overdrawn, and so is not actually allowed to have a negative balance - the bank simply refuses to honor any checks presented against the account that would cause it to have a debit balance.
• Debt. The remaining principal amount of debt owed to a lender by the borrower.
• Investing. The amount of cash that a broker lends to an investor's margin account to purchase securities, and which the investor must pay into the account before the purchase transaction can be completed.

Related Topics

Debits and credits
What is an account?
What is the normal balance for an account?