Account Debit for Purchasing Merchandise Inventory under Periodic System

Explanation

The periodic inventory system records purchases of merchandise inventory in an income statement account called Purchases.

When merchandise inventory is purchased under a periodic system, the account that is debited depends on the type of transaction and the accounting method used. In a periodic system, inventory is not continuously updated, and the cost of goods sold is calculated at the end of an accounting period.

In this case, the account that is debited when merchandise inventory is purchased is typically the "Purchases" account. Therefore, the correct answer is D. Purchases.

The "Purchases" account is an intermediate account used to record the cost of inventory acquired during the accounting period. It represents the total cost of merchandise purchased for resale. When inventory is purchased, the transaction increases the inventory on hand and the amount owed to the supplier. The "Purchases" account captures this transaction separately from the inventory account.

Here's a breakdown of the other answer choices:

A. Accounts Payable: Accounts Payable is a liability account that represents the amount owed to suppliers for purchases made on credit. While the purchase transaction affects the accounts payable balance, it is not directly debited when inventory is purchased.

B. Cash: Cash account represents the actual cash or cash equivalents paid for merchandise. If the purchase is made in cash, the cash account would be debited. However, in this case, we are considering a periodic system, which implies that purchases are typically made on credit.

C. Merchandise Inventory: The merchandise inventory account is not debited at the time of purchase. It represents the value of inventory on hand and is increased when inventory is purchased. The account is debited when inventory is sold under the periodic system to record the cost of goods sold.

To summarize, under a periodic system, the account that is debited when merchandise inventory is purchased is the "Purchases" account (option D).