How do I create a new category or subcategory?

Categories in Quicken help you organize and track your income and expenses. You can customize your Category List by adding new categories or subcategories to better reflect your financial situation.

Create a new category

You can create a new category to track a specific type of income or expense that is not included in Quicken’s default categories.

1. Select Tools menu → Category List.

2. Select New Category.

3. In the Category Name field, enter a name for the new category.

4. Choose Income or Expense to specify the category type.

5. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description for the category.

6. (Optional) To assign the category to a group, select a Category Group. This option appears only if category groups exist.

7. (Optional) To track tax-related transactions:

   • Select the Tax Reporting tab.

   • Select the Tax-related checkbox.

   • Choose Standard or Extended for the line item list.

   • In the Tax line item field, select the appropriate tax form and schedule line item.

8. Select OK to save the new category.

Note: Category names must be fewer than 40 characters.

Create a new subcategory

Subcategories allow for more detailed tracking within a main category. For example, under the Recreation category, you can create subcategories for specific activities.

1. Select Tools menu → Category List.

2. Select New Category.

3. In the Category Name field, enter a name for the new subcategory.

4. Choose Income or Expense to specify the subcategory type.

5. Select the Subcategory of checkbox, then choose the parent category from the dropdown list.

6. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description for the subcategory.

7. (Optional) To assign the subcategory to a group, select a Category Group. This option appears only if category groups exist.

8. (Optional) To track tax-related transactions:

   • Select the Tax Reporting tab.

   • Select the Tax-related checkbox.

   • Choose Standard or Extended for the line item list.

   • In the Tax line item field, select the appropriate tax form and schedule line item.

9. Select OK to save the new subcategory.

Note: You can nest subcategories up to 16 levels deep; however, using Tags may offer more flexibility for detailed tracking.