costs incurred

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrasebusinessfinance

   The amounts of money that a person or organization has already had to pay as a result of an activity.

   Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase; it often follows words like 'any', 'all' or 'the', as in 'any costs incurred' or 'the costs incurred last year'.

   Patterns

   • costs incurred by someone
   • costs incurred in doing something
   • any costs incurred
   • recover the costs incurred

   The company reported costs incurred of over two million dollars during the building work.

   Any costs incurred while you are traveling for the company will be paid back to you.

   The report lists the costs incurred by each department in the last quarter.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasebusinessfinancetechnical

   Expenses that a business records in its accounts when they have actually happened rather than when they are planned.

   Grammar: Common in accounting and finance; it contrasts with future or estimated costs, so it usually appears next to words like 'actual', 'total' or 'already'.

   Patterns

   • total costs incurred
   • actual costs incurred
   • costs incurred to date
   • record the costs incurred

   Accountants compare the costs incurred to date with the original budget.

   The auditor asked for a full list of the costs incurred in the project.

   Only the costs incurred before the deadline can be claimed on the form.

Common combinations

costs incurred by

The costs incurred by the local council were far higher than expected.

any costs incurred

Please keep your receipts so we can refund any costs incurred.

costs incurred to date

Costs incurred to date are shown in the second column of the table.

recover the costs incurred

The firm hopes to recover the costs incurred during the court case.

the total costs incurred

The total costs incurred last year came to just under a million dollars.

Synonyms and how they differ

expenses

A more general everyday word for money spent; it can include planned spending, while 'costs incurred' always refers to money already paid out.

outgoings

A British word for regular money that must be paid, such as rent and bills; it is less formal and not tied to a particular project.

expenditure

A formal noun for money spent, often used for whole organizations or governments; 'costs incurred' is narrower and usually tied to a specific activity.

Opposites

Word family

incur verb

To experience something unpleasant, such as a cost, loss or debt, because of your own actions.

incurred adjective

Used after a noun to describe a cost or loss that has already been suffered.

incurrence noun

A rare formal noun meaning the act of bringing a cost or loss on yourself.

Commonly confused: costs incurred or cost? costs incurred or accrued costs?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “costs incurred”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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