Capitalize

Capitalize may have one of the following meanings, depending the context of the term:

1. to record capital outlays as additions to asset accounts, not as expenses. See also capital expenditure. 2. to convert a lease obligation to an asset/liability form of expression called a capital lease; that is, to record a leased asset as an owned asset and the lease obligation as borrowed funds.

U.S. and other Developed Countries International Tax Meaning

CAPITALIZE – To record capital outlays as additions to asset accounts, not as expenses.

Description and Definition of Capitalize

Adding a cost or expense to the basis of the property. The process of recording an expenditure as an addition to an asset account instead of treating it as a deductible expense in the current year.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• Capitalize in the West's Tax Law Dictionary
• Capitalize in “A Dictionary of Taxation”