# Linear regression - Can I log transform dependent variable and one of the independent ones and keep the rest not transformed? [duplicate]

I have model where my dependent variable is Total money spend and then I have independent variable Income and some other variables. Is it okay to use log transformation on the dependent variable and one of the independent ones and keep the rest unchanged?

## marked as duplicate by whuber♦ r StackExchange.ready(function() { if (StackExchange.options.isMobile) return; $('.dupe-hammer-message-hover:not(.hover-bound)').each(function() { var$hover = $(this).addClass('hover-bound'),$msg = $hover.siblings('.dupe-hammer-message');$hover.hover( function() { $hover.showInfoMessage('', { messageElement:$msg.clone().show(), transient: false, position: { my: 'bottom left', at: 'top center', offsetTop: -7 }, dismissable: false, relativeToBody: true }); }, function() { StackExchange.helpers.removeMessages(); } ); }); }); Dec 12 '18 at 18:41

• A simple example is fitting a power function in a measured predictor $y = ax^b$ with also an indicator variable with values $0$ and $1$. Hence you might work with $\log y = b_1 + b_2 \log x + b_3\ \text{indicator}$, where $b_1= \log a$. Here the indicator does not need transformation and indeed any other transformation could only map $0$ and 1 to two constants, so there is no scope whatever for helpful transformation. – Nick Cox Dec 12 '18 at 15:40