The equal-leftover method: Split your expenses so you both keep the same amount

Equal leftover means you split the household's shared expenses so that you both have the same amount of money left afterwards. The higher earner therefore usually pays a larger share of the expenses.

Left here means the amount that remains after the shared expenses have been paid. Personal spending, private savings and individual purchases are normally not part of the calculation.

The method differs from paying the same amount, where the expenses are simply split straight down the middle, and from splitting by income, where each of you pays a share of the expenses based on your income.

The worked example

Alex earns 28 000 kr and Sam 35 000 kr per month after tax. Their shared expenses are 15 000 kr.

1. Add up your incomes. 28 000 + 35 000 = 63 000 kr.
2. Subtract the shared expenses. 63 000 − 15 000 = 48 000 kr left between you.
3. Divide by two. 48 000 / 2 = 24 000 kr each – that’s what you should both have left.
4. Each of you pays your income minus 24 000 kr. Alex pays 28 000 − 24 000 = 4 000 kr and Sam 35 000 − 24 000 = 11 000 kr.

Check: 4 000 + 11 000 = 15 000 kr. The expenses are covered, and you both keep 24 000 kr.

Compared with the other methods

Same couple, same expenses – three different outcomes:

The bigger the income gap, the more the methods diverge. Not sure which feels right? Start with the guide comparing all three methods.

When does the method fit?

• Your incomes differ a lot. With a big gap, even an income-based split can leave the lower earner with thin margins.
• One of you is on parental leave, studying or working part-time – often temporary, and the method evens out that period without anyone borrowing from the other.
• You see your finances as a team. The same margin means a restaurant night or a surprise bill feels the same for both of you.

The pitfalls

With very large gaps, the payment turns negative. If one of you earns 18 000 kr and the other 45 000 kr, “equal leftover” is 24 000 kr each – more than the lower income. Then it’s not enough for the higher earner to take all the shared expenses; the method also says they should transfer the difference. Nothing wrong with that – but at that point you’re effectively running fully joint finances, and that’s worth deciding deliberately.

Raises are shared automatically. If Sam gets 2 000 kr more per month, the method says Sam should also pay more of the expenses – so that you both end up with 1 000 kr more left to live on. If you see your finances as shared, that’s exactly how it should work. Does it feel wrong that half of your raise effectively goes to your partner? Then income-based splitting probably fits you better – there you keep most of a raise yourself.

The method requires openness. You need to know each other’s actual incomes and recalculate when something changes – the same principle as income-based splitting.

Frequently asked questions

Is equal leftover the same as fully joint finances? No. Only the shared expenses are affected – what’s left is still your own money. Fully joint finances means everything goes into the same pot.

What counts as income? Usually net salary. What matters is consistency – if you count child benefit or side income for one of you, do it for both.

What happens when one of us changes salary? Enter the new income – both the amount you each keep and what you each pay will change. In Inget tjafs, the split updates automatically when you change an income.

Try it on your own numbers

The calculator on the start page works out all three methods instantly – enter your incomes and expenses and see what equal leftover would mean for you, krona by krona.