To record sales tax, which of the following is the correct journal entry?

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Master the UCF ACG2021 Principles of Financial Accounting Final Exam. Study with comprehensive practice tests, flashcards, and multiple choice questions, each with detailed explanations. Ace your exam!

The correct journal entry to record sales tax reflects the transaction's impact on accounts related to both the revenue earned and the sales tax collected. When a business makes a sale that includes sales tax, it must recognize both the actual sales revenue and the obligation to remit the sales tax to the government.

In this case, the entry involves debiting Accounts Receivable, which records the total amount that the customer owes, including the sales tax. Since the sales price includes tax, the revenue recognized as credit to Sales Revenue accounts for only the sales price portion, while the Sales Tax Payable is credited to account for the legal obligation to pay sales tax to the government.

Using this method ensures that both components of the sale—revenue and sales tax—are accurately recorded, as the total amount owed by the customer reflects both. This approach is consistent with the double-entry accounting system, where every entry has a corresponding and opposite entry in another account, maintaining the accounting principle of balance.