6200expenseNormal balance: Debitpersonal6200 — Transportation
Transportation covers the everyday cost of getting around — gas, public transit fares, rideshare and taxi rides, parking, tolls, and vehicle maintenance or insurance if you prefer to track those here rather than under a separate account.
As an expense, it carries a normal debit balance. A car payment is a genuine judgment call, much like a mortgage payment on the Housing side: some people track the full payment here for simplicity, others split it, with principal reducing the Loans liability (2700) and interest landing in Interest Paid (6700). Neither approach is wrong — pick one and stay with it.
A vacation flight is a different category entirely, even though it is technically transportation in the plain-English sense — it belongs in Travel (6500) instead, since the intent behind the trip, not the mode of getting there, is what separates the two accounts.
What belongs here
- gas for personal vehicles
- public transit fares
- rideshare and taxi rides
- parking and tolls
- vehicle maintenance and insurance, if tracked here rather than a separate account
What does not belong here
- a car payment, if you prefer to split it — principal against the Loans liability (2700), interest against Interest Paid (6700) — a judgment call, since many people just put the full payment here instead
- a vacation flight — Travel (6500), since the trip's purpose, not the mode of travel, decides which account fits
- business mileage, if you also happen to run a business — the business chart's own Vehicle account (6650), not this personal one
Where it shows up
Shows on the personal income statement. If financing a vehicle, decide up front whether the loan payment splits between this account and the Loans liability, or lives here entirely — consistency matters more than which choice is made.
Common questions
- Does my car payment belong here?
- It can, or you can split it with principal reducing the Loans liability (2700) and interest going to Interest Paid (6700). Either works — decide once and stay consistent.
- Why does a vacation flight not count as Transportation?
- Because the trip's purpose matters more than the mode of travel — vacation costs, including flights, belong in Travel (6500) instead.