Enter information about other income (Lifetime Planner)

Other income includes anything you expect to receive that isn’t a salary, pension, or Social Security benefit. It might be a one-time windfall—like an inheritance—or recurring payments such as alimony or trust distributions.

Adding this income helps Quicken project:

Whether you’ll need to dip into savings to cover expenses
How much income you can reinvest
The tax impact of irregular or taxable payments

Enter all applicable income for yourself—and for your spouse if they’re included in your plan.

➕ Add a source of other income

You can add a new income source from the Other Income section of your plan assumptions.

Open the Planning tab and select Lifetime Planner
Click Plan Assumptions if the assumptions list isn’t already visible
Select Income, then go to the Other Income tab
Click New to open the Add Other Income window

🧾 Complete the fields

The Add Other Income window includes fields for the income type, timing, taxation, and how the income will be used in your plan.

Field	What to enter
Income type	Choose from:
	Inheritance
	Monetary gift
	Trust distribution
	Royalty payment
	Alimony payment
	Child support
	Other income
Description	Give the income a clear label like Family trust payout or Annual gift from relative
Start date	Choose a trigger:
	Specific date
	When you retire
	When you reach a certain age
	When you pass (for surviving spouse income)
Income period
	One-time event for lump sums
	Multiple-year income for recurring payments (enter the number of years)
Income	Enter the annual amount in today’s dollars
Annual growth	Choose how the income may increase over time:
	Inflation (3%)
	Inflation (3%) plus or minus
	No increases
	Custom rate
Tax rate	Choose one:
	Normal rate (your average tax rate)
	No tax
	Custom rate
Use for income	Choose how the income should be treated:
	Save it and invest it in your taxable portfolio
	Use it to pay expenses (none will be saved)

💡 Tip: If the amount changes year to year, average the past five years or take a conservative estimate.

💡 Tip: One-time income is best saved so it can grow and support you later in retirement.

✏️ Edit or remove other income

You can update or remove entries at any time from the Other Income list.

Select the entry from the Other Income list
Click Edit to make changes
Click Delete to remove the entry
Use Exclude from plan to retain the data but remove it from calculations

🧠 Example scenarios

These examples show how to classify different types of other income depending on timing and use.

🎁 You expect to receive an inheritance in your 70s
Income type: Inheritance
Start: At age 72
Use: Save it and invest it in your taxable portfolio
This income isn’t needed for regular expenses. Saving it allows you to preserve funds for later-life care, gifts to heirs, or emergencies.
💸 You receive monthly alimony for 6 more years
Income type: Alimony payment
Period: Multiple-year income (6 years)
Use: Use it to pay expenses
📬 You receive annual trust distributions starting at age 65
Income type: Trust distribution
Period: Multiple-year income
Use: Save it and invest it
📉 You want to be cautious about future amounts
Adjust Annual growth to No increases or a lower custom rate.
❌ Don’t use this section for:
- Salaries
- Social Security
- Pensions
- Business income
- Rental income
- Investment returns

These belong in other parts of the Lifetime Planner.

💡 Final planning tips

Other income gives your plan more flexibility and realism, especially if you expect nontraditional cash sources. Just make sure the values are accurate and the usage settings reflect your actual strategy.

All income must be entered in U.S. dollars
Other income is treated as taxable unless marked No tax
Multi-year income is spread evenly; one-time events are applied in full
Choose the Use for income setting based on whether you want to spend or save the income