Setting Up a Paycheck Series with Splits

Overview

Most paychecks are deposited as a single net amount (your take-home pay). By splitting an Income Series, you can track the full paycheck each time it’s received — including:

• Gross income

• Taxes and deductions

• Net deposit

Once set up, splits are applied automatically whenever the Series matches a transaction.

You can set this up from the Assign Splits option when editing an income Series.

Why Use Paycheck Splits

Most people think of their salary as their income — but gross pay and take-home pay can differ by 20–40% or more. Without splits, that gap is invisible. Tracking each component gives you a much clearer financial picture.

Splitting your paycheck in a Series helps you:

• See your full income picture (gross vs. take-home)
  Taxes, insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and other withholdings are real money going to real purposes. Splits make those flows visible.

• Track taxes and deductions over time
  Federal and state withholding, Social Security, and Medicare accumulate throughout the year. Seeing these totals helps you estimate whether you may owe taxes or receive a refund.

• Catch payroll errors
  If a deduction doesn’t stop or a withholding is incorrect, you’re more likely to notice it when tracking individual line items.

• Understand benefits and contributions
  Health insurance, HSA/FSA contributions, and 401(k) deferrals happen before you receive your paycheck. Tracking them helps you understand your total compensation.

• Build a more accurate Spending Plan
  Your Spending Plan reflects what you actually receive—not your gross salary.

Before You Begin

Before you assign splits to your paycheck series, have your most recent pay stub available. You’ll need:

• Gross income (before deductions)

• Each deduction and amount (taxes, benefits, etc.)

• Net pay (deposit amount)

Tip: Common abbreviations include:

• FICA SS (Social Security)

• FICA Med (Medicare)

• FWT / SWT (federal/state withholding)

How to Assign Splits

Step 1: Create or open your paycheck Series

1. Go to Settings > All Recurring

2. Do one of the following:

   • Select + Series to create a new paycheck Series

   • Find an existing Series, select ⋯, then choose Edit Series

3. Set the Recurring Amount to your net pay (the deposited amount)

4. Confirm the remaining details:

   • Payee

   • Account

   • Match criteria

   • Frequency

Step 2: Open Assign Splits

1. From the Series detail screen, select Assign Splits

You’ll see:

• The Series amount (net pay)

• A Left to Split indicator

Step 3: Enter your splits

1. Select + Split to add a row for each item on your pay stub

2. Enter:

• Gross income:
  Enter as a positive income amount

• Deductions:
  Enter as positive expense amounts

• Overflow row
  Use this for the final row to automatically assign any remaining amount.

  👉 This is especially helpful if your paycheck varies slightly — Overflow ensures your splits stay accurate without needing updates each pay period.

Helpful tools

• Left to Split: Shows the remaining amount to allocate

• + Left to Split: Fills a row with the remaining balance

• Tags (optional): Add for tracking or reporting

✔ Done when Left to Split = $0.00

Step 4: Save your splits

1. Select Continue

2. Select:

   • Create (new Series), or

   • Update (existing Series)

Your splits are now saved and will be applied automatically to future matched paychecks.

Examples

Simple Paycheck (Taxes Only)

Alex works part-time at a retail company and is paid biweekly. His paycheck has straightforward and he wants to track these deductions — just federal and state taxes, Social Security, and Medicare.

Gross pay: $1,600.00

Net deposit (Recurring Amount): $1,285.60

The math: $1,600.00 gross minus $314.40 in total taxes equals $1,285.60 net — which is exactly the amount the Series is matched to. Left to Split shows $0.00. ✓

This is the simplest setup — just taxes and net income. Even at this level, you can see over the year how much you're paying in federal tax versus Social Security versus Medicare, which is useful to estimate whether you'll owe at tax time or receive a refund — and decide whether to adjust your W-4.

Full-Featured Paycheck (Benefits and Retirement)

Jordan is a salaried marketing manager, paid semimonthly. Her paycheck includes not just taxes but also a 401(k) contribution, health insurance premium, and HSA contribution — all deducted before she ever sees the money.

Gross pay: $3,250.00

Net deposit (Recurring Amount): $1,976.37

The math: $3,250.00 gross minus $1,273.63 in total deductions equals $1,976.37 net. Left to Split shows $0.00. ✓

This setup does something that net-only tracking can't: Jordan can now see at a glance that $195.00 of every paycheck is going toward her future retirement, and $100.00 is pre-funding her healthcare through her HSA. When her employer announces a 4% raise next year, she'll be able to see exactly how each line changes — not just her deposit.

Note: Jordan's 401(k) and HSA contributions are pre-tax deductions, meaning they lower her taxable income. Her federal and state withholding amounts already reflect this. If you're unsure whether your deductions are pre-tax or post-tax, check your pay stub or ask your HR department — it affects how you may want to categorize them.

Tips

• Pay changed? Update your splits using your latest pay stub

• More deductions? Add as many split rows as needed

• Check your pay schedule to ensure your Series frequency matches your actual pay schedule, so reminders appear at the right time:

  • Biweekly = 26 paychecks/year

  • Semimonthly = 24 paychecks/year

• Split deposits across accounts?
  See: Including a Savings Transfer in Your Paycheck Series

Related Topics

• Understanding Your Spending Plan

• Splitting a Transaction Across Categories

• Including a Savings Transfer in Your Paycheck Series