What are indirect costs?

Indirect costs are expenses that are necessary for the overall operation of a business but cannot be directly traced to a specific product or service. These costs support the production process and are essential for running the business, yet they don’t vary with the level of production directly.

For instance, expenses like rent for the manufacturing facility, utilities, and salaries of administrative staff fall under indirect costs. They contribute to the operational capacity of the business but are not incurred for each unit produced, unlike direct costs, which are specifically and easily allocated to individual products. This distinction makes option C the accurate identification of indirect costs, as it highlights their nature of supporting operations beyond direct production activities.

While direct costs and the characteristics of fixed and variable costs are also important concepts in accounting, they do not apply when defining indirect costs, which specifically focus on those necessary operational expenses that are not linked to the direct production of goods or services.