Definition of Material Price Variance



A material price variance is variance due to the difference between budgeted price and the actual price of raw materials purchased for production. It is calculated by taking the difference of budgeted price and actual price multiplied by the actual quantity purchased.

 


The formula for material price variance is as follows:

Material Price Variance = (Standard Price – Actual Price) x Actual Quantity

 


Assume that the budgeted price for material X is $25 per unit. The purchase manager purchased 5000 units and the actual price charged by the supplier was $27 per unit. The material price variance will be unfavorable as the actual price was more than the budgeted price.

Material Price Variance = ($27 - $25) x 5000 = $10,000 Unfavorable


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