Split bills by income calculator
Splitting bills by income means each person pays the same share of their pay, not the same amount. Enter the shared bills and each take-home pay, and see each share, what each keeps, and how it compares with splitting evenly.
By income
Ana pays $1,905.88 (63.5%)
Marko pays $1,094.12 (36.5%)
Each pays 35.3% of their take-home pay.
Split evenly
Ana pays $1,500.00 (27.8% of pay)
Marko pays $1,500.00 (48.4% of pay)
After the bills, Ana keeps $3,494.12, Marko keeps $2,005.88. The shares add up to $3,000.00 exactly.
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How the split works
Add up both take-home pays. Each person's share of the bills is their pay divided by the total. The calculator does it in whole cents and gives any leftover cent to the share closest to the next one, so the two amounts always add up to the bills exactly. As National Bank of Canada's advice puts it, when incomes differ significantly, splitting proportionately is the strategy it recommends.
$3,000 of bills, two incomes
Take-home pays of $5,400 and $3,100 a month, sharing $3,000 of rent, utilities and groceries.
| Person | By income | Evenly |
|---|---|---|
| Earns $5,400 | $1,905.8835.3% of pay, keeps $3,494.12 | $1,500.0027.8% of pay |
| Earns $3,100 | $1,094.1235.3% of pay, keeps $2,005.88 | $1,500.0048.4% of pay |
Split evenly, the partner who earns less hands over almost half their pay. Split by income, both hand over the same 35.3%.
When one of you is paid in euros
If the second partner earns €2,900 a month, at an example rate of 1 EUR = 1.084 USD that is $3,143.60, and their share of the same bills is $1,103.84 against $1,896.16. A rate that moves 5% moves the shares by less than that, but it moves them; recheck when it does. Couples who keep separate accounts usually share only these costs and keep the rest apart; see shared spaces.
What it assumes
Pay that is the same each month, and bills you have agreed to share. It is arithmetic, not advice about how a couple should arrange their money.
Words this page uses
- Proportional split
- Each person pays the share of the bills that their income is of the total income.
- Even split
- Each person pays the same amount, whatever they earn.
- Take-home pay
- Pay after tax and deductions: the money that can actually pay the bills.
- Shared bills
- The costs you agree to share: usually rent or the mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance.
Questions
- Is it fair to split bills by income?
- It is one fair answer: each person gives up the same share of their pay. National Bank of Canada suggests splitting proportionately when incomes differ significantly; others split the big costs by income and the small ones evenly. There is no single right formula.
- Gross or take-home pay?
- Take-home pay is usually fairer, because it is what each person can spend after tax. If one partner pays more into a pension or has higher tax, gross pay would overstate what they can contribute.
- What if we are paid in different currencies?
- Give the second income its currency and today's rate, and the calculator converts it before working out the shares. Recheck when the rate moves a lot: the shares move with it.
- Does it work for roommates?
- Yes, for up to six people. Roommates more often split evenly, or by room size; the calculator shows both an income split and an even split so you can choose.
Share the household, keep your own
In Tavala a shared space holds the household's money and each partner keeps a private space nobody else sees, in any currency. One partner's Plus covers both; the person invited never pays.
Go further
- Budgeting apps for couplesThe honest list, by how you keep your money.
- 50/30/20 calculatorNeeds, wants and savings, for one income or two.
- Separate accounts, shared budgetHow couples budget without merging money.
- Spaces: keep separate money separateA space holds its own wallets, entries and budgets. Switch spaces from Home, create more, and share one with the people you budget with.
- Share a space with someoneCreate an invite code or invite by email. The space owner needs Tavala Plus or a Group pass, and the people who join never pay.
- Add a bill or a recurring paymentCreate a rule for rent, a subscription or your salary, choose how often it repeats, and let Tavala post it on schedule or ask you to confirm each one.
Start with what you spent today.
There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.