It stands for realizable cost savings (or realized cost savings); the amount by which the current cost of the assets held by an entity in the current period increases. This refers to the positive change (upward movement) in the market price of assets held during the period. Holding gains of an asset can be realized or unrealized. For instance, the holding gain arising from revaluation is considered unrealized, but it constitutes part of the profit in the income statement.

Realizable cost savings (a key concept in current cost accounting) are also termed holding gains.