Question

SMC had a 1/1/14 balance in the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $20,000. During 2014, it wrote off $14,400 of accounts and collected $4,200 on accounts previously written off. The balance in Accounts Receivable was $400,000 at 1/1 and $480,000 at 12/31. At 12/31/14, SMC estimates that 5% of accounts receivable will prove to be uncollectible. What is Bad Debt Expense for 2014?a. $4,000.b. $14,200.c. $18,400.d. $24,000.

Answer 1

b. $14,200

Step-by-step explanation:

The computation of the bad debt expense is shown below:

= Balance in the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts - wrote off accounts + written off - estimated amount

= $20,000 - $14,400 + $4,200 - $24,000

= $14,200

The computation of the estimated amount is calculated below:

= Ending balance of accounts receivable × uncollectible percentage

= $480,000 × 5%

= $24,000