Attributable costs are also known as which type of costs?

• A. Pass-through
• B. Direct costs
• C. Indirect costs
• D. Committed costs

Answer: (A)

Attributable costs are costs that can be tied directly to a specific client or project and are usually billed to the client as separate line items. In facilities management, many charges are passed through to the client rather than absorbed into the management fee, making them pass-through costs. For example, utility charges, subcontractor fees, or permit expenses that appear on the client’s bill are charged as pass-through costs because they are attributable to that particular service or project.

This differs from direct costs, which are internal costs tied to a cost object but not necessarily billed separately to the client; indirect costs are overhead shared across activities; and committed costs are long-term obligations like leases or depreciation.