Totalling vs Totaling: One L or Two?

Both spellings are correct. Which one you use depends on which variety of English you write in.

American English: totaling (one L)
British English: totalling (two L’s)

This is a straightforward spelling split — the same kind that gives American English traveling and British English travelling, or American canceled and British cancelled. Neither form is a mistake. Neither is more formal or more correct than the other. They simply belong to different standard conventions.

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Why Does the L Get Doubled?

The verb is total. When you add -ing to form the present participle, you follow different rules depending on which English tradition you’re in.

In British English, the final consonant of a verb is doubled before a vowel suffix (-ing, -ed) when the preceding vowel is unstressed — but in practice, British usage has historically doubled the L in words like travel, cancel, and total regardless of stress. So: totalling, totalled.

In American English, doubling applies mainly when the final syllable is stressed. Since to·tal is stressed on the first syllable (TO-tal), American convention keeps the single L: totaling, totaled.

This isn’t random variation — it’s a consistent pattern across dozens of verbs ending in L.

The Full Pattern

Verb	American English	British English
total	totaling	totalling
travel	traveling	travelling
cancel	canceling	cancelling
label	labeling	labelling
equal	equaling	equalling
model	modeling	modelling
signal	signaling	signalling

The same split applies to past tense forms: totaled (American) vs. totalled (British).

Totalling vs Totaling in Sentence Examples

American English

The invoice is totaling more than we expected.
After totaling the receipts, she realized they were over budget.
The damages totaled nearly $50,000.

British English

The costs are totalling up faster than planned.
After totalling the figures, the accountant flagged an error.
The losses totalled more than £30,000.

Both sets of sentences are completely correct in their respective contexts.

Which Totalling vs Totaling Should You Use?

Use the spelling that matches your audience.

Writing for an American publication, company, or audience? Use totaling.
Writing for a British, Australian, or most other international English-speaking audience? Use totalling.
Writing for a mixed or unclear audience? Pick one and stay consistent throughout the document.

If you’re following a style guide — AP, Chicago, Oxford — it will almost certainly tell you which to use. AP and Chicago follow American conventions, so they prefer totaling. Oxford and most British publishers prefer totalling.

A Note on Australian and Canadian English

Australian and Canadian English both tend to follow British spelling conventions for this pattern. Totalling is the standard form in those varieties too, though Canadian English occasionally leans toward American spellings depending on context and publication.

Quick Takeaway

Totalling and totaling mean exactly the same thing and are both correct. The only question is where you’re writing. American English drops the extra L; British English keeps it. Match your spelling to your audience, and you won’t go wrong either way.

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Afini Chimaobi

It’s Afini, I am the author at Vocab press, a website focused on animal facts with clear visuals and simple guides. I research and share accurate, easy-to-understand information for readers of all ages. My goal is to make learning about animals fun, trustworthy, and simple. I follow fact-based writing and keep content updated, helpful, and people-first. Thank you for reading.