Explain the difference between implicit and explicit costs

Explicit costs are reported in business documents. They are also known as direct costs. Explicit costs result in tangible assets for the company. Some examples are: rent, wages, maintenance. Explicit costs are easier to identify and account for because they leave a paper trail.

Implicit costs can be described as opportunity costs. Implicit costs deal with intangibles and do not leave a paper record. Implicit costs can be time or wasted opportunities, for example. An implicit cost is simply the loss of a possible benefit or asset that didn't occur.